Anime Island Resort
by Pete the Rock
Summary: 13-way crossover. 13 pairs convert at a multidimensional island resort for a seven day, six night getaway with all sorts of excitement. The anime list is inside. Rated for language and violence
1. Day 1

_Disclaimer:I do not own Pokémon, Digimon, Sailor Moon, Bleach, InuYasha, Maburaho, Girls Bravo, Gurren Lagann, Sacred Seven, Negima!, Pani Poni Dash, Fullmetal Alchemist and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I also don't own either Emma Iveli or NeoMiniTales.  
Summary: 13-way crossover. 13 pairs convert at a multidimensional island resort for a seven day, six night getaway with all sorts of excitement._

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_**Anime Resort Hotel**_

_Day 1_

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The vast, beautiful, endless ocean. The continuous blue that streaked from end to end was a sight that one for thirsty eyes. Alas, an island wad through the forever traveling waters. The large island had a vast forest with it's trail to blaze through. There was also a wide beach line which stretched from one end to another with what seemed to be an apartment building on the edge of the sands. Touring the beaching rather frantically was a tanned, bleach blond male in a teal polo t-shirt and cargo shorts while walking on sandals. "Pete!" he called out. "Pete!" What interest did he have with Pete? "Dammit, where the hell are you?" He continued to scurry around for Pete, no sign of where, much less who he was. "I'm gonna count to three before I-"

"Four!" voiced someone from above. The brunette turned to where the voice echoed from, looking up by the roof. Hanging upside-down was a ponytail blond male wearing the same thing as the other blond aside from a belt

"This is no time for monkey business, Pete!" Pete groaned at the first blond's cold attempt at humor.

"Neo, don't steal my puns, alright? Besides, I was just fixing a void. I'll be down in a second." Pete holstered the paintbrush before grasping the storm drain, flipping backwards and dropping down, Neo not even worried. No wonder since Pete landed squarely on his tennis shoes.

"Why didn't you try out for the gymnastics team? That would've been a perfect ten for the landing." Pete undid his belt before storing it in a dry plastic bag.

"I can't do a back flip if my life depended on it. Good enough reason?"

"Well, I guess not being able to do a back flip would certainly disqualify you from competition." Pete glanced back at where he applied the paint, all matching the pearl white finish.

"Anyway, you need me for something?"

"Not me. Emma's been hounding about where you've been for the past few hours." Pete sighed, flustered with his other co-worker's nose into others' business. "Look, I know we've worked on this for a few months since we found the island by some sort of alien or future technology and we're fatigued with everything we've invested. You, yourself...I mean you've worked non-stop for the past three days. We fanfiction writers need rest from work, even if it's not our own stories." For someone who's been up for the past three days, Pete didn't seem the least bit worn.

"I wouldn't be that quick to judge. I took quite a few power naps, though I wouldn't recommend taking one on the roof. It does a number on your shoulders." Neo gulped at Pete's choice of nap location. Who in the right mind sleeps on the roof?

"I may have known you for a few years, but you are weird. Anyone ever tell you that?" The roll of the eyes told Neo that Pete was called weird over and over.

"If I had a dime...no, a _nickel_ for every time someone told me that..." Neo threw his arms up, not wanting to push the conversation.

"I'm being serious. No one thinks of you as you are, not even I do. You call yourself Pete the Rock, yet your arms are like rubber bands!" Both walk off to join their other member.

"What can I say? I may be solid but I like to stretch the imagination." The boys entered the lobby met by a redhead female with blond streaks wearing...are those their uniforms? Whatever happened to tuxedos, business suits, pantyhose...never mind. In addition, she wore a tattoo of a red oval with white "SF" letters overlapping each other.

"Where on the island were you, Pete?" she snapped. "I need you to help record the messages for our guests on their welcome." Pete slapped his head, forgotten task reminded by her.

"For someone who did basketball games behind a camera, you had to remember that task," Neo mocked. All Pete could do was shake his head in misery.

"Alright, let's get filming," he mulled.

"And after that, we're done," the female finished. After sometime, two young people with a few creatures arrived at the front desk. The boy was wearing an open blue jacket over a black t-shirt and jeans. He also covered his raven-haired head with a red baseball cap that had a green triangle decal. On his shoulder was a yellow mouse with a lightning bolt for a tail. In his arms was a green baby dinosaur with a shark fin on it's head and an orange chest plate. By him and reading a pamphlet in her hand was a redhead female in a yellow midriff t-shirt and jean shorts held up by suspenders. She had a ponytail like Pete's except it was sticking out of the side. In her arms was an egg with stubby arms and paw-like feet with a crown like head on top. What did the pamphlet say?

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE OPENING OF THE INTER-DIMENSIONAL HOTEL RESORT FOR A 7-DAY/6-NIGHT EXPERIENCE, ALL EXPENSES PAID. YOU AND YOUR OTHER FRIEND CAN ENJOY THE VAST OCEANIC BEACH, WALK THE TRAILS THROUGH THE TREES AND FEEL FREEDOM FROM THE EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK.

Seven days and six nights here? That's a vacation. "Considering we had to spend a couple months before the Indigo League, this wouldn't be that bad of a stay," the boy compared. "At least there's a great space to warm up for the Silver Conference." Something the redhead wasn't ready to accept.

"Slow down, Ash," the redhead with the egg urged him stop. "We should take advantage and relax while we're here." It's a vacation spot that's hardly known, if known at all. Even the creatures think a little fun under the sun would be enjoyable. Neo came to the desk with a pair of keys.

"Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower," he called. "You have the last available room, #16 on the first floor." Easy access to the beach. The two received their keys with praise.

"By the way, how many other pairs are here besides us?" Misty asked.

"12 others. You wouldn't believe where our brochures have ended up." That's one way to say everywhere they wanted to be. Too bad this wasn't a Visa commercial. They started to make their way out of the lobby when the mouse spotted something...

("Is that some bunny Pokémon?") it squeaked. Hearing the mouse and seeing where it was pointing, Ash and Misty saw a white rabbit on it's hind legs and wearing a red handkerchief like a scarf. It's face looked like a 5-year-old drew it. It was also shivering like it's cold.

"Are you okay?" Ash wondered. The bunny turned to the kids, still shaking like a salt shaker.

"Y-You aren't going t-t-to hurt me, a-are you?" it rattled. It could talk? Ash and Misty looked at each other, wondering what could be done. They weren't taken back by the fact that this bunny was talking.

"Why would we wanna hurt you?" Misty questioned. The bunny slowly stopped his quiver, calming down from possibly an overreaction.

"You mean you're not some of those outside?" One more gawky glare to each other. There were 12 other pairs there so maybe there were some which scared the bunny.

"You can stay by us for a while," Ash proposed. "We can keep you safe." The bunny started to cry in joy. Protection. Even the egg got excited with their new furry friend.

"You like to have that rabbit with us, huh, Togepi?" Misty tried to understand. With their new bunny, the group walked out. That's when everything was present. There were blonds, blue-haired people, redheads...and that's the humans for the most part. There was a dog with steel legs, a penguin, a baby seal...was that a flying piglet? There were different creatures that were playing around the beach, presumably trying to understand each other.

"Wow, I think we're indeed lucky to have the last room available." The bunny agreed when Misty spotted a grown raven-haired young man in a leather jacket and slacks...and her eyes became hearts.

"Dream hunk!" Ash was rather mystified with her act to seeing a tall man. It was about to get a little more baffling. "Here, hold Togepi until I get back!" Once Togepi and her bag were in Ash's arms, Misty dashed out to introduce herself to the tall young man. Emerging from behind Misty was a white-haired man in a red samurai garb. There were dog ears protruding from the top of his head.

"She'll be disappointed when she realizes Darrien's been taken," he observed. Ash turned to the voice, wondering what he meant. "Even worse is that she's a bit of a ditz." Misty or the girl who's attached to Darrien? The bunny and baby dinosaur were easily frightened by the appearance of the new man.

"I take it you had time to introduce each other before we arrived, huh?" Ash assumed.

"Yeah. There are some people on this island that I actually don't mind like Simon and Alma. However, there's someone that gives me a rather disturbing vibe." The white-haired's glare was aimed at a reddish-blond male in street clothes. That young man fired his glare back despite being yards away. 'Ichigo Kurosaki...'

'InuYasha...' minded the blond, Ichigo. Ash stood in silent confusion trying to find out what the deal was between both the gazers. The bunny and the dinosaur shook feverishly in fright, breaking the gawk of his blank stun.

"Perhaps a few too many people to get accustomed to, huh, Larvitar?" Ash tried to comfort the dinosaur. Larvitar was having a hard time easing up. Even Togepi hopped down to comfort the little dinosaur. InuYasha turned his focus off of Ichigo and saw the tiny egg. All sorts of thoughts ran through his head.

"I hope that the little egg isn't your child," he guessed. Ash heard the dog-eared man, willing to correct InuYasha.

"Actually, Togepi belongs to only Misty. She just handed to me to go chase him." As the two conversed for the moment...

"InuYasha?" a female called out. It was a raven-haired female in a white school sweater and green skirt. "I was wondering where you ran off to." InuYasha looked like he was about to soil his garb at the sound of the female alerting his attention and turning to her.

"K-Kagome!" he gulped. Kagome soon saw Ash, curious.

"Who's this? You just get here?" Knowing that Kagome wasn't being mad at him, InuYasha sighed in relief. That's when she saw Togepi, getting rather googly eyed. What's with girls and them getting weak in the eyes? "Adorable!" Togepi chirped at the acknowledgment, even snatching the egg out of Ash's hands. "You're so cute for a little baby, I just wanna cuddle with you!" Togepi wasn't scared about having a stranger cuddle with it. The bunny wasn't so thrilled that Togepi was getting all the attention.

"I wish someone nice were to cuddle with me," it whimpered. Larvitar patted the bunny in condolence. Kagome saw the talking bunny, recognizing who it was.

"Mesousa, Shun's been looking all over to feed you." News of a friend's concern was bright news to the bunny now known as Mesousa.

'Miss Kurumi's brother, wanting to feed me? Oh, joy!' Mesousa was crying a little bit before wandering off to find Shun. After seeing that, Ash spotted a door which read "16" on the knocker. That's the assigned room for Ash and Misty.

"Can you excuse us?" he spoke. "I need to put my stuff in my room." InuYasha and Kagome saw nothing wrong with letting Ash put his stuff away.

"Okay, but is it alright if I hang on to the baby?" Kagome requested. Ash needed to tell Kagome that Togepi wasn't his.

"You'll need to ask her, but she seems to be busy at the moment." The group saw Misty in a heated argument with a blond female with long pigtails and knots the shape and size of golf balls. If that's the ditz InuYasha referenced, Darrien might need a little help.

"Matter of time before Serena came out to save Darrien," he murmured. Kagome handed Togepi back to Ash before she and InuYasha pursued to get Misty and Serena away from each other. Ash and the creatures got to the door of their room when Ash realized that he couldn't get the door open. His hands were full. Help was about to arrive.

"You need help?" voiced what sounded like an young teen girl. Ash turned to see a purple-haired girl wearing another school outfit, this time maroon. Her hair draped over her eyes making it hard to see what color they were. However, her cheeks were exposed blushing red.

"Y-Yeah, thanks," Ash praised before he handed the key to the new girl. She unlocked and opened the door for Ash and the creatures to enter. That was very thoughtful...who are you? "Thanks...uh..."

"My name is Nodoka Miyazaki. I'm here with Prof. Negi Springfield." A teacher with a student? Anyone see a scandal upcoming about this? "And you are?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm a Pokémon trainer, and that over there is Pikachu." The yellow mouse greeted Nodoka with a squeak. Nodoka acted rather intrigued with Pikachu that she petted the mouse.

"Cute!" No dispute there, not like the redhead and blond going at it right now. Come on, Misty, that's not very motherly. After a few seconds, she rose and faced the door. "I'm gonna let you get situated. I'll probably see you at the banquet later tonight." Yes, food. Ash's stomach growled at the sound of the banquet. Hearing the loud growl had Ash embarrassed and Nodoka giggling like a preschool girl. She left where Larvitar found a note, alerting Ash. Ash heard the sound of Larvitar and grabbed the note.

"Welcome to your room. Turn on your TV as you get comfortable in your new surroundings." Pikachu had a remote pointed at a wide-screen TV set. Hitting a button, the TV set was on. Showing was the redhead at the start, the one who worked there.

"Welcome, guests," she greeted. "I'm Emma Iveli." Ash was about to greet her back...but why? She might be using this to talk to each guest.

"Hi, Emma. What's on to-"

"As a member of the first guests to be here, we're grateful to be a portion of what's to be an area people will be comfortable to experience." It was the recording Emma and Pete worked on. "Relax yourselves in your seven day stay and experience whatever you desire from a kitchen to fix yourselves to the ocean for swimming and surfing. NeoMiniTails, Pete the Rock and myself will be seeing all of you tonight for future instructions. Speaking of tonight, we recommend that you fill out a menu of what you want to indulge at our banquet held in the mess hall. We should also make certain that you include a food from all food groups from breads to fruits and vegetables, no sweets, cookies or candy. Make sure that your menus are turned in by 4:00, otherwise we'll just give you something at random. The sooner you complete your menus, the more time for our chefs to prepare your food. Well, that about covers everything until later tonight. We'll see you then."

Talk about friendly cliffhangers, Emma wanted to tell everyone when they were all eating. That would be perfect to see and greet everyone, even Simon and Alma like InuYasha had brought up, or Prof. Springfield or Darrien or Serena. "I wonder who Pete the Rock is? Some sort of mountain climber?" Larvitar pulled a piece of paper from a coffee table and showed it to Ash. When Ash spotted the slip, "MENU" as the title. Yeah, put two and two together. "Guess I can't leave you out of the menu. I mean, Brock gave me the Pokémon food for the trip so we shouldn't go hungry." Togepi couldn't be more cherubic about food. It was the only one. Pikachu and Larvitar alerted Ash to trouble. Three cats were snarling at the human with the mouse. One cat was pure black with a crescent moon mark on it's forehead. The second was a tiny white cat with black streaks and two tails. The last cat was white with lavender hairs sticking up and yellow claw gloves. Ash established the equation that these cats wanted a mouse and Pikachu was their target. "Stay close, Pikachu." Pikachu got by Ash cautiously while the cats pawed closer. Suddenly, they leaped. A pounce! Ash grabbed Pikachu and ducked the kitten assault. The three cats flew over Ash and Pikachu. Those two would be okay.

"Stop it!" another male squealed in pain. "That smarts! OUCH!" When Pikachu and Ash realized that they weren't harmed. They looked up to make sure Togepi and Larvitar were okay. They were but they were gawking at the mess with the three cats and...what was that they were scratching at?

"Lightning Paw!" the one with the gloves shouted, a female from her pitch. THWACK! A white weasel was smacked right into Ash's arms. The rodent was beaten pretty bad. Ash had to wonder why these cats would abuse the weasel until he saw underwear from Misty's bag. Ash blushed, viewing a woman's unmentionables. Could this rodent have sneaked into Misty's bag for some private fabric?

"You have a lot of nerve filtering through Serena's luggage!" the black cat hissed like a formal female from royalty.

"Not to mention Kari's and Kagome's bags you lecturer weasel!" The rodent straighten itself to defend it's reasons.

"That's ermine!" the weas- ermine roared back. So that's who was yelling for help. "And besides, I was just checking the fabric of the swimsuits to make sure they can handle the currents the ocean will smack the swimmers around." What did swimwear fabric had to do with the ermine snooping around into girls' bags and luggage?

"Oh, please," the black cat disagreed. "Only a buffoon would believe that horde of lies."

"Even Kilala doesn't believe what you just said," the white cat referred to the two-tailed kitten. The first two could talk. Why not Kilala? The ermine turned to Ash for aid.

"Hey, don't just stand there!" he begged. "Get these feline fatales off my fur!" Something the cats wanted Ash not to do.

"Please, young man!" the black cat pleaded. "That weasel will continue to frisk through every female's closets!"

"That's ERMINE! How many times do I need to repeat?" Ash could let the ermine go and warn him about consequences or let the cats turn him into a morsel. All he needed was the view of Misty's undergarments to give him an answer.

"This should take a second," he answered as he proceeded to the door that was still open. The cats could only hope that the ermine was getting punished. Meantime, a messy brunette male in a white school polo and a redhead female in a yellow summer dress were making their ways to the office to drop off their menus.

"I think it's nice that Yuna's given a break from cooking for a day," the brunette sighed.

"You don't mean the one who calls herself your wife, right?" the redhead groaned. "I mean, why does she need to hog your ass for herself? You're not married and you're not even a fiance. You ask me, you two don't deserve each other and that Miharu weirdo is more your type, Kazuki. That or the other redhead bimbo teen." Pretty good chance she wasn't talking about Misty.

"Well, have you seen anything that you like, Asuka? Obviously, Shinji's not cutting it for you." A suggestion was about to pop out. Ash and the ermine in his hands had exited, where Asuka had a pretty good eye on...he may be an ermine on the outside but he was definitely a weasel on the inside.

"You!" She pointed at the fur ball, not Ash. "You tore a hole in my new bikini!" What's this ermine's problem with woman's summer clothes?

"Is this true?" Ash growled. The ermine darted his head away.

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about, sister," he denied. Asuka couldn't believe the audacity from this rodent. The growl told Ash that this was one dirty rat. He dropped the ermine but he wasn't letting him go like that...not without a powerful boot. POW! This kick was a line drive bullet that skimmed the surface of the water. The ermine skipped the water a few times before sinking into the ocean. That's a really far punt.

"Been awhile since I did a football kick." That was some kick. Even the cats and Pokémon were impressed.

"NFL or FIFA?" the white cat questioned. Togepi chirped rather confused.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if that was a keeper kick or a punter kick, Gatomon," the black cat shrugged. It didn't matter to Asuka. Seeing that ermine go bye-bye was satisfying enough.

"Thanks a lot," she praised as she got a good look at Ash. "You definitely look like Shinji a few years ago but you're more stoic and thrilling to be with." Ash blushed a little at the good from Asuka.

"Thanks," he shyly replied. Asuka liked how Ash looked that she knelt down and gave Ash a kiss on the lips.

_"Mein Urlaub Spielzeug!"_ What did she say? Ash was star struck. So star struck that he fainted a few seconds after Asuka left. Kazuki, you might want to help him back into his hotel room. We've yet to meet all the people and creatures on this island but the way it's turning out, a few interesting people to know, a rivalry in the process and one week for all of these people to come together. Guess when dinner arrives, we'll know all and understand the situation. Perhaps have some fun in the process.

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TO BE CONTINUED INTO TONIGHT...


	2. Night 1

_Night 1_

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Talk about twists from the start. We were first introduced to three characters who pretty much ran an all new hotel on an island in the middle of the vast, endless ocean. Pete the Rock, NeoMiniTails and Emma Iveli had built a resort for oncoming guests. In that case, who's the boss? 13 pairs had been invited to give the new resort a test run. Ash and Misty were the last couple to arrive and that's when things got rather interesting. Love at her first sight was Darrien, who was already loved by Serena as pointed out by InuYasha. Entering the hotel room, it appeared that three cats would attack Ash's Pikachu. However, they assaulted a beavering ermine who had ransacked girls' luggage. When Ash gave that ermine the boot, literally, Asuka thanked him with a kiss while Misty was occupied with Serena. That kiss floored him and forced Kazuki to help him back inside. Since then, Ash recovered and wrote his order for the menu. Kilala and the black cat hung around when Misty came back. "That Serena is such a pain in the neck!" she growled. "Just what does Darrien see in that- that-" Larvitar got spooked where it hid behind Pikachu for protection.

"Listen, Serena may be a bit slow but she's a real friendly person," the black cat meowed, spooking Misty. She soon straightened out, though relatively surprised.

"I guess after Team Rocket's Meowth, I should expect some animals to talk. But how would you know?" The black cat might know somethings but Ash answered for her.

"Luna's worked with Serena and Darrien," he replied. "What exactly, I'm not sure." Somewhat cleared, Misty began to understand Luna's dilemma. "By the way, can you fill in this before I deliver it to the front office? It's for tonight's dinner." Misty sat down and gave a look at what Ash wrote. As she decided what she wanted to eat tonight, the kitchen was occupied by plenty of chefs, as well as Pete and two pink-haired girls. The tall girl was in a white/lavender school uniform with white knee-high socks and loafers. The shorter of the two had three red circles on her forehead and wore a black dress like a nightgown. Despite being shorter, her hills were indeed bigger than the taller pink-haired. So what were they doing in the kitchen?

"Listen, I understand that you want to cook for your men," Pete started to explain. "But I'll give you, as well as everyone else access after the group dinner. I'm giving you girls a little break to try some of what our chefs can provide." The smaller pink-haired seemed to accept the reason but the taller of the two...

"Well, there must be something Miharu and I can do," she proclaimed. Pete understood that these two wanted to do something that could keep them occupied.

"I hear you, Yuna. I really do." Pete glared at the orders which included Yuna and Miharu...and realized two were not present. "We're still waiting on the pair in #16 and #11. Miharu?"

"Yes, Mr. Rock?" Miharu responded.

"Could you go to the two rooms I mentioned? #16 has Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower while #11 has Edward Elric and Winry Rockbell." Miharu nodded to the idea of running out and taking this mission.

"Sure thing." Miharu journeyed out of the kitchen and headed out. The first door was #11. All she did was knock. Opening the door was a ponytail blond female in a black leather jacket and skirt.

"Hey, Miharu," she greeted. This would have to be Winry Rockbell. Edward sounded like a guy's name. "What's up?"

"Mr. Rock had asked me to retrieve the remaining menus from your room and Mr. Ketchum's room." Winry got the paper written down and handed it to Miharu.

"Don't tell Ed this but I put milk onto his order. He hates milk but I think with all of these people here, I've got confidence that he might enjoy it." Both girls giggled at the ploy. Why does Edward hate milk? Instead of asking, Miharu just received the sheet before making it to Ash's and Misty's room with a knock on the door. Ash opened it to see Miharu.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I just came by to say hello and to retrieve your orders for tonight." It was what Misty had been working on. What, was she filling in the Pokémon's orders?

"Done!" she cheered as she wove the paper over her head. She got up and handed the slip to Miharu. "Good thing, too. Deadline was fast approaching." The pink-haired giggled innocently.

"Thanks." That's when Ash had a question about her instead of waiting at the banquet.

"By the way, what's your name?" he asked.

"Miharu. Miharu Sena Kanaka. I'm here with Yukinari who has a bit of an allergy but with the layout of the dining hall, that won't be much of a problem." What allergy was she meaning? "I'll see you tonight." With the orders, she scampered off and left the trainers wondering what kind of allergy this Yukinari had.

Night fell and more and more characters emerged. Two large round tables edged both sides of the room with a stage facing them. Above one side was a sign saying "MEN/BOYS" and the other had a sign saying "WOMEN/GIRLS." Can it be any easier? Each plate on the tables had a name for each one who was staying for the week. Each one found their seats. Joining Ash, Ichigo, Kazuki, Darrien and InuYasha on the boys' table were a braided-ponytail blond in a black suit from head to toe where he sat by the tag "EDWARD ELRIC," a blond in a green shirt with yellow sleeves with the tag of "TK ISHIDA," a silver-haired wearing a black school outfit who sat with the tag "ALMA TANDOUJI," a brunette in a white school outfit like Kazuki without any blue seam lines which read "SHUN MOMOSE," a short redhead in glasses in a brown business suit who seemed to go by "NEGI SPRINGFIELD," a blue-haired in a blue outfit that had the name "YUKINARI SASAKI," another blue-haired in an open coat and goggles who appeared to by "SIMON" and a raven-haired in a white button-down shirt and blue pants who seemed to go by "SHINJI IKARI." As for the women, joining Misty, Serena, Miharu, Winry, Nodoka, Yuna, Asuka and Yuna were a small blond in a tie-dye t-shirt and jeans that sat by the name of "REBECCA MIYAMOTO," a brunette in a pink/white sleeveless shirt and yellow shorts with the tag as "KARI KAMIYA," a voluptuous redhead in a pink t-shirt and white sweatpants who parked in front of the note reading "ORIHIME INOUE," a child-like redhead with large amounts of hair while wearing a red school uniform and stylish boots. Her name, according to her seat was "RURI AIBA." Finally, a greenish-blond with flowers in her eyes and wearing a pink jacket and skirt. Her tag happened to be "NIA TEPPLIN." There was plenty of chattering along both tables...as well as stare downs. Misty and Serena, InuYasha and Ichigo...come on guys, can't we all have a nice dinner without any ruckus? "You'd think they can save their scrum for some other time," Negi referred as he spoke with a British accent.

"They're not the only ones," TK pointed to Misty and Serena. It made Darrien wince in embarrassment.

"At least those two sorta have a reason," he sighed. "Not the same with InuYasha and Ichigo." What did Ichigo and InuYasha have to fight for? Asuka looked on, amused at the glaring exchanges.

"Should I break Misty's heart in telling her that I kissed Ash?" she mocked. This broke the concentration from glaring at Serena to darting her eyes right at Asuka, Misty in shock at who was actually close while she was occupied with the pigtail blond.

"YOU?" she shrieked. Instead of freaking out, Asuka played it cool like it was no big deal.

"He helped me punish that weasel who's been infiltrating our bags." Negi heard of the misadventures involving that certain we- ermine. He flustered a sigh.

"You wouldn't be talking about Chamo, would you?" he mentioned. The girls now realized that the ermine belonged to Negi, they got a little heated under the numerous collars. The temperature in the room rose about 10 degrees but Negi felt the heat in a different emotion: fear. Aside from Nodoka, Nia and Miharu, the girls focused their anger at the redhead Springfield.

"You sicked your rodent onto our bikinis?" Rebecca steamed.

"And our G-strings?" Kagome growled.

"Well, prepare to feel the wrath of women with ruined swimwear!" Yuna roared as the angered girls pounced on Negi while the boys just sat behind and watched. Well, most of them. Ash and Darrien leaped into the fray with food approaching. Poor timing when Pete, Neo and Emma entered with food...and a pretty bad scuffle which forced Pete and Emma to leap into the pile, pulling each from one another.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Emma shrieked. "Not the place!" Thanks to Pete and Emma with the cease of the scuffle, peace seemed to be in order. Darrien was slightly bruised but Ash and Negi were badly pulped.

"No wonder they say hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn," Negi ached.

"That's...for sure," Ash mumbled. Emma and Pete helped Negi and Ash back on their feet while Neo tried to figure out what just happened.

"What was that all about?" he questioned. Darrien was able to let the hosts know.

"The professor's ermine had be causing havoc in the ladies' bags, ruining their swimwear," he explained. "And after putting two and two together, they believed that the professor deserves punishment for his ermine's mischief." The hosts weren't sure how to respond to this.

"I will confess that Chamo is my ermine but I have no part in the calamity caused by him," Negi admitted.

"Hey, relax," Pete eased. "We do have a rental department for swimwear. All sizes available and styles." It was a sigh of relief to the girls who had their suits ruined by the rodent. "But first, dinner is served. Though I question a bunny having buttered toast and some premium coffee." Mesousa rose it's paw, knowing full well that it belonged to him as it was joined by the many creatures which had Luna, Kilala, Gatomon, Pikachu, the dog with a metallic leg, an orange winged piglet, a yellow baby seal, a king penguin with a breastplate reading "PEN PEN" and a mole rat. Pete distributed the food to the pets and even petted the dog, scratching behind it's ears, much to the delight of the dog.

"Den's pretty friendly to everyone," Winry introduced. Pete wasn't worried.

"Back where I'm from, dogs always seem to want my attention. By the way, what happened to it's front leg?"

"It was badly infected so we chopped her leg off to prevent it from spreading and replaced it with auto-mail." Pete understood the hardship Den endured to have her leg amputated to prevent a disease from getting to vital places.

"Den's tough." Watching how caring Pete was to Den, Misty wondered as she looked at her Togepi in her arms if Pete could watch it at sometime. Neo and Emma handed out the food to each order that was written down. The chefs were geniuses for staying true to the order. As they were eating, the hosts gathered on stage but hesitated in whether or not to introduce themselves while everyone else was dining. Ash was sharing some of his food with Larvitar. Finally, Emma voiced.

"Well, for NeoMiniTails and Pete the Rock, I, Emma Iveli, welcome you to the resort," she began. Everyone was paying attention to her, much to the chagrin of Pete and Neo. "Here, the beach, the forest, the rooms...they're all yours for the week. We also have movies and TV shows on demand, a rental store for any fashion desires, hot tubs to relax your muscles...anything at your disposal. The main goal for all of you is to have a great time while on this week long trip."

"As you might have figured out, I am NeoMiniTails but you can simply call me Neo and that is Pete the Rock," Neo pointed out to Pete, who was gazing at a very bored Edward. "Not only could you use the Front Office button to buzz us about somethings, but you can call another room to see what they're doing. Now, I'm not sure about what just went down just as we came in when we saw everyone ganging up on the redhead and raven-haired boys but hopefully respect will be appreciated." Emma spotted Nia raising her hand.

"Yes, Miss Tepplin?"

"You see, our swimming clothes were tampered with because of Mr. Springfield's ermine that had been snooping around the girls' bags," she clarified. Emma seemed intrigued while Pete gawked with an eye wide open.

"Why don't you bring your suits to the front office so that I can patch or replace them? That way, they'll be available for tomorrow at least." Scores of relieving sighs flooded the girls' side.

"Thanks, Emma," Kari praised. "But we haven't heard from Pete." Ruri wondered why Kari had an interest in Pete. Pete was still staring at Edward who started to doze off. Neo saw where Pete's eyes darted.

"Mr. Elric!" he roared, snapping Edward awake. "Perhaps you could tell us why our introduction speech is uninformative?" Edward wasn't really thinking about this.

"Look, thanks for introducing us to this resort and to all these people," Edward yawned. "But why did you give me milk? I hate milk!" It was on the menu that Winry put on, but Pete chose to reply. Serena and Kari mulled at how someone could actually hate milk.

"What time period did you come from?" he asked. What point did this have?

"1915, why ask?" Pete smirked with a reason.

"Times have changed. New formulas and procedures have made milk better tasting so it no longer has that vomiting aftertaste." Edward could only ponder how this milk could actually be better from back then? He took a large sip...his eyes became widened as he gazed at the milk he tried. Was it better? Was it worse?

"This milk..." His eyes watered. He must like. "I want seconds, thirds...I don't care about the milk from back then, gimme this milk! It's awesome!" A great portion of the people and the creatures sighed in disbelief.

"It's just milk," Yukinari murmured. Finally, Edward cooled off.

"Sorry about that. I guess after tasting vomit for so long, I didn't want to have milk for the rest of my life. Perhaps I can demonstrate what I can do. Anyone have something?" People were feigning to surrender an item until...

"Here!" Asuka called with a red/white stripe one-piece swimsuit that had plenty of holes, no doubt caused by that ermine. Edward got the tattered swimsuit, eyes widened again.

"I might need a bigger transmutation circle. And with the floor, the chalk won't work." Pete pulled out a marker. Why a marker?

"Would this work?" he asked. Edward uncapped the marker and eyed the white tablecloth and in one motion, pulled the tablecloth from under the plates and glasses...which skirted without disturbance. Nice pull. Then he drew a large circle and two triangles mirrored and overlapping each other. Finally, he laid Asuka's swimwear which was easy to say had seen better days.

"That's a transmutation circle?" Shinji wondered.

"Yep. You guys should stand back." When everyone was cleared of the tablecloth, Edward clapped his hands and pressed them on the tablecloth. Sparks zapped around the tablecloth as everyone watched. Magically, sparks acted as a needle and thread as it closed the wounds on the swimsuit while Pikachu climbed up on Asuka's shoulder. After a minute, the sparks ended. Asuka's swimsuit was brand new. Asuka examined the repaired swimwear, shocked at how new the suit looked. She wasn't the only one.

"That's a gust of wind of a new direction," Pete awed. Asuka draped the swimsuit over her body to show Ash what she wanted to wear in front of him.

"So...what do you think?" she teased. Ash wasn't sure if he wanted to see it for sure. Luckily, Misty stepped in. What's with her being with the other women? First, Serena and now Asuka. She was face-to-face, redhead to redhead.

"I don't think so!" she roared. What's with Ash and the women?

"Who says?"

"I do! Besides, Ash doesn't have time to be going out with a girl anyway!"

"Is that so? Why do you need to grasp Ash when he has no time for a girl like me?" That's when she sneered wickedly at Misty. "Unless you two are boyfriend and girlfriend." This backed Misty to a corner in a poorly scripted comeback.

"N-No, I'm just a tag along after he destroyed my bike!" A beaming grin from Asuka had Misty worried.

"A bike, huh? That's why you're with this stallion? That's stupid." That irritated Misty, just wanting to teach this female a few things.

"Oh, yeah? What do you have that beats having a bike totaled?"

"How about an entire navy fleet off the coast of Japan by an angel." Misty irked at how an angel, a symbol of goodness, would be destroying a navy fleet. Finally, Kari and Ruri stepped in, pushing the other two fiery redheads via the shoulders; Misty held by Kari and Ruri holding back Asuka.

"That's enough, you two!" Kari scorned. "Look, I know that we haven't started on happy terms but this is a place where we need to be at peace. Besides, is this helping your Togepi out?" That made Misty stop and think. Togepi was watching the whole exchange from Kagome's arms. Hey, she got her wish! The boys sighed, wondering how they can take Misty's onslaught when she blows up like that.

"I thought my only concern was with you," Ichigo gawked to InuYasha

"Tell me about it," InuYasha replied. Ash could only wonder why Misty would behave in such a fashion, let alone why she would act incredibly defensive about him.

"What did I do to get that outburst?" he questioned. Even Pikachu and Larvitar wanted dire answers to all that went like that.

"Well, so much for a typical evening dinner," Neo groaned. Pete wanted to disagree.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he believed. "We got a show out of it. Sometimes dinners need a little pizzazz." Emma and Neo gave Pete an evil eye for his remark, puzzling the other host. "What?" With the scuffle settled, some of the guests stayed around with Pete. Ash, Asuka, Darrien, Negi, Ichigo, Kagome, Becky, Kazuki, Miharu, Simon, Kari, Alma and Winry awaited further instructions. "Until the sixth night, the island is yours. The only thing I would want from you is a breakfast menu on the seventh day when we all dismiss you for your homes." All nodded and exited.

"I have to say that tonight's banquet was a smashing success," Negi reviewed. "Sure, the girls got in a little heated argument but it was exquisite." Ash and Simon would was to dispute that.

"You sure?" Simon shook. "If I brought Yoko instead of Nia, she would've shot the ceiling to stop them from all that fighting."

"Or Larvitar's Screech would've worked without damage," Ash referred. Larvitar looked up at Ash, thinking how it could be a good thing. Kari and Ruri came forward from behind the boys to get a better look at the Pokémon in Ash's arms. They had an eye on the cute Togepi.

"So that's another of those Pokémon, huh?" Kari spoke, Gatomon hanging on her shoulder.

"Yeah." Larvitar got a little spook and clutched Ash's shirt, trying to hide from the girls. "It's okay, Larvitar." He petted the baby dinosaur to comfort it. "Sorry, he's very shy around strangers. Totally opposite of Misty's Togepi." Kari wasn't too concern as she petted the back of Larvitar's head regardless of how rough the skin felt.

"Still, he's actually cute for a baby dinosaur." The feeling of warmth stoked Larvitar to peer at Kari, the fear of a stranger not being so apparent. "See, I'm okay. I'm sure there are others who you would like." Larvitar seemed more and more interested with who else came on the island retreat. Ruri had an interest in Larvitar but for a more common reason.

"So how did you get this...Larvitar?" she popped the question.

"Well, we got Larvitar as an egg by Prof. Elm to return to the Pokémon Preserve on Mt. Silver," he explained. "Along the way, Larvitar hatched but there had been some complications along the way. It hardens and screeches around Misty and Brock but has always been nice to me and I'm not sure why." It wasn't afraid of Kari. Simon and Negi were questionable...but not about Larvitar.

"Who's Brock?" Simon asked.

"A great friend and Pokémon Breeder in training. When Misty got the flier for this trip and the limit that was mentioned, he wanted to return home to make sure his family's doing okay." Well, something to keep him occupied.

"Family is a good thing to have," Negi thought. "They can be a pain the neck but they're within reach if you ever need something." Simon looked to the sky. Was there someone he remembered?

"Bro..." he murmured. A dead member in his thoughts. Even Pikachu patted him to comfort. "Thanks." Negi and Ruri yawned. It was late.

"Well, I feel like retiring for the night."

"Yeah, sleep sounds like a good idea right about now," Kari agreed. "You be good, Larvitar." Larvitar softly roared in acknowledgment. Everyone returned to their assigned rooms. In room #13, Serena was contemplating about the situations already displayed in front of her over the entire day. Darrien stepped out of the bathroom, cleaned up and ready for bed.

"What's wrong, Serena?" he asked. Serena turned to her associate for a question.

"What do you see in Misty?" she opened. Darrien blinked, wondering what the questions all about.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw how you reacted when that preteen redhead approached you. You didn't even come close to deny her advances!" Darrien could try to defend himself. Here's one way.

"I didn't have time to react when we met. She just came up and you came to my rescue."

"Honestly, Serena, we're surrounded by different people and creatures, including that perverted rodent," Luna reminded. That Chamo did a number with the girls' clothing. "Speaking of, you looked at Ash with some inspiration. Are you planning some infidelity with that young man?" Ash was the human responsible for stopping Chamo's fabric rampage and the girls would've applauded him for that as they punished Negi. Serena felt like Luna had plans for what she could do with some of the other guests, merely on Ash.

"Luna!" she snapped. "Are you suggesting that I date Ash instead of spending time with Prince Darrien?" Luna irked herself back to regroup her wording.

"That's absurd! Why would I allow the Moon Princess to date a commoner younger than you?" A knock stopped the argument briefly. Serena opened the door where...it's the ermine. Now known as Chamo, the ermine was soaked to the bone.

"That kid can really kick!" he gasped, still trying to get his breath. "Guess it doesn't help if you smoke, does it?" Did he mean cigarettes? And why does an ermine like him smoke? Luna and Serena nodded a momentary truce to glare at the ermine.

"There's no smoking in the hotel room," Serena pointed out.

"And besides, if you think we'll let you in to dry out, think twice," Luna scolded, further exasperating the ermine and his chance to redeem some good factor, whatever that could be. The final slam of the door shut out Chamo as he couldn't help but wonder what that was all about. The next door opened where Miharu exited, perhaps her beauty rest interrupted by the yelling of Serena and Luna. Without a second thought, Chamo raced to Miharu's side.

"Ha, I can still get dried up before I catch a death of cold!" he cheered. Miharu saw the ermine and caught it, noticing how drenched it was.

"Oh, my," she gasped. "What are you doing out here? And all wet?"

"It's a long story, sister." Fortune, and Miharu, smiled on Chamo despite his acts before.

"Let me dry you up and feed you some fruit. Lucky for you, Yukinari isn't allergic to rodents." Finally, all the doors were closed and sleep was the norm. In the front office, Emma yawned as she wrote on a paper. She was beat.

"You okay, Emma?" Pete asked as he entered with a cup of hot liquid in each hand. Emma saw the cups, thinking Pete wanted to offer a cup to her.

"Earl Grey?" she guessed.

"Yeah, if you want. The other's coffee." Let's see...tea or coffee?

"It's my night. Besides, I work better with Earl Grey, anyway." Pete gave her the cup and left with the coffee. The first day was done with six more in the making.

* * *

DAY 1 COMPLETE. TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Day 2, Night 2

_Day 2, Night 2_

* * *

The sun was rising as it was shining on the second day of the island resort. Unfortunately for Emma, the rising sun was more of a goodnight light. Neo saw the downed co-worker, knowing that she put in a full night's work of...what could actually happen during the night that would need someone like that? Neo draped a blanket over Emma and used the swivel chair to move her out of the way. He grabbed another swivel chair and planted his seat to the front office. Someone...or something else was alert in the morning. Back in Room #16, Larvitar was trying to wake Ash for the day ahead. Can't you give him some extra sleep? It was rather exhausting for Ash yesterday from punting Chamo for his mischief with female's clothing to getting kissed by Asuka to trying to save Negi from a swarm of malcontent women. Regardless, Ash woke to meet his Pokémon. "Good morning, Larvitar," he smiled.

("Morning, Ash,") he greeted. ("I wanna go hiking!") He tried to imitate someone walking with a cane or a support stick. This told Ash that Larvitar wanted fresh air and not to be around Misty.

"Alright, let me get dressed." He exited from his bed,wearing nothing but boxers. He entered the bathroom and changed into his street clothes. Pikachu and Togepi were sawing logs that it would be rude to wake them up. Once he got shoes on, Ash had his mind on food. Was anyone in the kitchen? Exiting the room, Ash and Larvitar proceeded toward the kitchen, maybe expecting someone to help make something to start the day. Serena opened the door from Room #12, appearing pretty disheveled. Did she get any sleep last night?

"Why did Luna have to turn my hair into a scratching post?" she whined. Maybe because those pigtails were disturbing her sleep considering how long they are. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Ash. She remembered that it was his friend, Misty, who chased Darrien. Apparently, her mind was on payback. We all know about payback, right? 'Hold on. Misty came after Darrien and away from her boy. Then again, she left Ash vulnerable. Maybe I should go with Ash to get some revenge on her.' She got back inside, changed clothes into a...was her choices of clothing really necessary for a beach? She wore a long-sleeve pink shirt, blue miniskirt, pink knee-high socks and black dress shoes. Whatever happened to shorts and tennis shoes? Ash stopped by the empty kitchen where he brewed a small amount of iced tea as Larvitar snacked on some Pokémon food, pellets with some spices in it. Ash loaded a canteen full of the iced tea.

"Whenever you're ready," Ash warned. Larvitar rose his arm to signal that he's ready. After cleaning up, Ash and Larvitar reached the entrance of a trail which looked pretty long. "This is gonna be a long journey."

("Can't be that bad,") the Rock Skin Pokémon barked softly. Both were unaware of a new trailing partner oncoming.

"Wait up!" Serena voiced. The two turned to see the pigtailed blond female in that...choice of wardrobe.

"Serena?" Ash gulped. Serena didn't mind what the looks on the boys' eyes faced.

"Hey, someone's gotta make sure you get back safely. Besides, what are you doing up this early in the morning?" Larvitar hid behind Ash's leg, shyness on how to confront her. She didn't look as bad as Misty, right?

"Larvitar wanted some exercise by going down this trail." The name Ash blurted had Serena itching her head...until she saw said Pokémon, kneeling down to greet him.

"Oh, you must be Larvitar. Hi, there!" Larvitar slowly revealed himself to this girl. This wasn't the same girl who flipped out on Misty, was it? Coming out of hiding, Larvitar made his way to Serena cautiously. "Is Larvitar this shy to people?"

"Yeah, but Misty and I have been working with Larvitar to see why." As Serena petted Larvitar, much amusement on his face, she felt the rough skin on the Pokémon.

"Well, what about it's skin? It feels like sandpaper." Ash could answer that easily.

"You get that a lot with Rock-Type Pokémon. Yeah, it's not as soft as Pikachu's but just knowing what Larvitar's capable of, it's best to be friends with him." Serena was intrigued with what Pokémon are on the inside, not just what they look like.

"At least there are some monsters on this island I want to befriend, unlike the monsters from the Negaverse." An insight to what Serena deals with on a daily basis.

"What do you mean the Negaverse?" Serena balked at what she was saying, trying to back her way out.

"I mean...uh...things me and my friends contend with! Yeah, let's stick with that!" She marched onto the trail, perhaps undaunted that branches would tear away her skirt by pieces or by the whole. Ash wasn't sure about how this was going to go for the rest of the week with all these females.

"First, Asuka and now Serena?"

("Maybe payback on Misty for going after her human?") Larvitar guessed. ("I mean...she's nice like that brown-haired girl last night.") Larvitar had to be thinking of Kari. Ash only had the 1000-piece puzzled look on him on why Serena would be chasing him after Asuka. Either way, Ash chased to get to Serena's side. Questions fluttered through their minds.

"So, how did you and Misty come together?" Serena started the conversation.

"Well, it was my first day in Pokémon training and leaving Pallet Town to chase my goal of being a Pokémon Master," Ash began. "Pikachu and I weren't on the same page per say and we were attacked by a flock of Spearow. We fell into a river and were fished out by Misty in which I borrowed her bike." That's when Serena remembered the argument between Misty and Asuka.

"Misty did point out that you destroyed her bike. How did that happen?"

"Pikachu fired a Thunder Shock aided by a lightning bolt which ballooned and got me, the Spearow...and the bike. Since then, she's been with me through Kanto, the Orange Islands and right now through Johto." Serena pictured how this problem with Ash had manifested with Misty.

"In a sense, she's holding you hostage until her bike's renewed or replaced." The word, "hostage," didn't agree with Ash. However, it seemed that anywhere he went, Misty was right there. "But why can't you just buy her a new bike? They're not that expensive." How much were they? $100? $200?

"Let's just say that bikes in our world are ridiculously expensive like in the thousands for a cheap ride." Gulp! That sounded like a bike in his world would be about the same price of a car.

"Wow, what do they put on those bikes to make them so pricy?" All Ash could do was shake his head and shrug his shoulders.

"I think it was a good thing that Misty, as well as Brock, were with me to give me pointers in training Pokémon." It's always nice to have friends.

"Yeah, it always helps." Even Larvitar wanted to side with Serena.

"And what about you and Darrien?" Serena dug into her memory bank to recall her encounter with Darrien.

"Well, we were just two different strangers seeing each other from time to time. I was busy protecting the city and getting help from a rather dashing prince. That's when we discovered who we were and I helped save him from certain death...or was it that he saved me?" Well, which was it? "Anyway, now that I look at you, you make me think of Darrien when he was in the Orphanage." Darrien had no parents? Man, if Misty knew about this, would she fond over Darrien more or less?

"Well, I...don't know about that but I haven't seen my dad for a long time. Heck, I don't even recall what my dad looks like to be honest." Two youngsters without a father to speak of, only Darrien's got it worse with no mother. "Was he ever adopted?"

"No, and I'm not sure why." Ash finally understood why Serena was with Darrien. Darrien had no one to love him and she ended up showing the care. "Although, I think for you, either Mina or Lita would be a great match."

"I guess since you have Darrien." Their traveling conversation had taken them to the end of the path where there was a cliff overlooking the vast ocean. The morning sun was making the ocean sparkle. "Wow! This is beautiful!" Larvitar awed in agreement.

"This would be perfect to patch romances!" And in case that doesn't work, they could jump off. Then, splashes. Larvitar, being obviously fearful of water since he was Rock-Type, jumped in fear from the constant eruptions of water. The humans peered at the splashing, eying a small school of... "Look! Dolphins!" The group of bottle-nose dolphins swam around the edge of the cliff. Larvitar peeked around to see the dolphins' fun. That's when one of the dolphins spotted the humans on the cliff, squealing up to them. Larvitar heard the dolphins' cackling, realizing that they wanted a closer look. "It seems that these dolphins want something from us."

("They wanna see us up close!") Larvitar spoke up, pointing back down the path. It started to click to Ash.

"Let's grab a boat and meet up with them to see what they want," he decided. Serena bobbed before racing back down the trail, forgoing the scenery. Back on the beach, Edward was with Alma and Miharu walking toward a palm tree. Miharu held Chamo while Alma had a man-made stone in his arms. The stone had a demonic carving.

"Let me get this straight," Chamo started. "You can do alchemy without a transmutation circle?"

"That's right!" Edward confirmed. "I bet you're wondering why I used one if I didn't really need it." Alma and Miharu glared upon each other, rather puzzled. "Well, let's just say that's a demonstration of how some others do alchemy. There are plenty of people like Colonel Hothead and my teacher that could do alchemy without transmutation circles." So now we could see how Edward does alchemy without circles. "Here goes!" He clapped his hands and then the tree. Sparks emitted from the tree, his witnesses watching in shuttered awe. The tree disappeared...only to reappear as a canoe. Those who saw gulped in shock, no pun intended.

"_**How the hell did he do that?" **_spoke...the stone?

"I'm not sure, Hellbrick," Alma stuttered as Ash and Serena reached the end of the trail.

"Not even Seiren can do something like that," Miharu compared. One pat on the canoe tipped the water vessel down...right onto Ash.

"Thanks!" he yelled as he took the canoe and flung it into the ocean. Serena leaped into the canoe and sat as the rest watch on in stunned dismay.

"What the hell are you doing with that canoe?" Edward shouted. Ash ignored Edward as Misty and the other Pokémon stepped out to witness the incident. Once on the canoe, he snagged a cyan/red/white ball.

"Totodile, I choose you!" He tossed the ball and it opened. Out popped a tiny blue crocodile with red triangles over it's back. "Help us into the ocean!" Totodile pushed the rear of the canoe as Ash and Serena paddled with a hand each.

"_**So, where the hell are they going?"**_ Hellbrick asked. Darrien and Misty reached the shoreline to view their traveling mates out in the water. Everyone was puzzled until Pikachu spotted fins sticking out of the water approaching.

("Look!") Pikachu warned. All viewed the fins, thinking that something bad was going to attack.

"Ash, Serena, look out!" Darrien called out. That's when a dolphin leaped above and over the canoe. With a splash of the dolphin's jump, the other dolphins cackled in applause and those back on the beach were stunned that what surrounded the canoe weren't a threat. "Bottle-nose dolphins. So this island has quite a bit of marine life to go with the scenic display." Ash even showed Larvitar how friendly these dolphins were. However, he preferred the dryness of the boat to see them. It was a sight for all to see.

"Okay, I'll excuse him for taking the boat this time," Edward sighed. Back on dry land, night had fallen. Ash and Serena, along with Luna, Gatomon, Pikachu and Larvitar, were joined by Simon and Kari in the mess hall discussing what had transpired. Pikachu was upset that Ash got to play with dolphins without him but it was a sight none the less to enjoy.

"Tell me you're joking," Kari teased. "That was your first time seeing dolphins, let alone be close?"

"Hey, I've yet to see Pokémon that resemble dolphins," Ash explained. "So, yeah, it was my first encounter." Simon understood Ash being in a world where normal animals would be virtually impossible to find.

"I guess I understand," he shrugged. "I mean, I spend almost all of my life underground in Giha Village before Bro and Yoko brought me to the surface world and Bunta was my only friend before becoming part of Dai-Gurren." So both boys never encountered dolphins at all until today.

"You know, I found it rather surprising about after coming back to shore," Serena spoke up, changing the topic. "Misty and Darrien weren't really mad at either of us considering we were together throughout the daylight. Didn't that feel odd to you?" Ash blinked a couple times in trying to understand Serena's notice.

"I didn't really notice," he denied. "Was I suppose to?" A nervous fluster from Serena told Ash to forget it.

"Never mind." That's when Luna had a theory about the lack of response of Misty and Darrien.

"I think Darrien and Miss Misty believe that the two of you wouldn't be compatible," she hypothesized. It's an easy explanation but one with many questions to the one answer.

"And how can you prove that, Luna?" Kari pondered. That left Luna unsure how to answer. That's when Pete exited from the kitchen with drinks in hand. They're all minors so it's very doubtful any of the drinks had alcohol.

"One can never know until it happens," he said as he handed out root beer floats to those sitting.

"Thanks, Pete," Simon praised as he chugged the root beer/ice cream treat. "Great taste!" An a belch to cap that had Ash and Kari giggle.

"Good one!" Ash laughed. As they enjoyed the floats, in InuYasha's room, he laid on the sofa, still nerved about one certain person on the island. The shower running would indicate Kagome using the bathroom. Suddenly, a button on the wall was blinking, catching InuYasha's attention. Fascinated, he got up and hit the button on the wall. A monitor lit up, revealing Ichigo, also alone. Was Orihime using the shower as well?

"InuYasha," Ichigo called out. The sight of Ichigo gave a rush of thrill to InuYasha.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" he growled.

"I have an idea on how we can settle our nerves against each other." This intrigued the white-haired man. He wanted to hear the option.

"Go on."

"Tomorrow morning on the beach. We'll see who's sword's better." A snarling grin painted the face on the opponent.

"I'll be ready." Ichigo hit a button, shutting the screen down. So now there was going to be a showdown in the next morning between InuYasha and Ichigo. Who will win this fight?

* * *

DAY 2 COMPLETE. TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Thanks to all who voted. Orihime came the closest in second, Nodoka in third and Askua 4th. So next is the battle of Ichigo and InuYasha. Stay tuned and I want to give my condolences to the victims of the Aurora Theatre shooting. I cannot forgive anyone who would hurt, let alone kill a child. And I also donate my prayers to those who were harmed in the event.)


	4. Day 3, Night 3

_Day 3, Night 3_

* * *

A battle of swords. InuYasha and Ichigo were going to settle the tension among each other. These two have never met before coming to the island but when they did, a vibe rattled each other, wanting to know what one had that could overcome the other. The sunrise of the third of seven days marked the action about to start. Shun and Kazuki had stepped out, preferably to the kitchen for breakfast. "I'm actually surprised that Rebecca elected you instead of one of her students," Kazuki awed. Shun remained calm, almost bored.

"It's no surprise, really," Shun murmured. "Miss Miyamoto didn't have any men in her classroom and none of the other teachers would come along, not even Miss Igurashi after she learned that it was an alcohol-free island. Kurumi asked me about it, thinking that she might need a cook for the ordeal." Suddenly...

"Get the hell outta my way!" Edward yelled as he dashed past the brunettes. He finally stopped and leaned over the railing, peering out at Ichigo in a black samurai garb in the same fashion as InuYasha's. There was also something on his back wrapped up. He stared at the ocean, preparing for the fight.

"Edward, what's going on?" Kazuki questioned as he and Shun caught back up. Before long, another door opened, InuYasha stepping out. Ichigo gazed at InuYasha. The battle was soon.

"Rested?" the strawberry blond desired to know. A smile painted on InuYasha. He drew his sword...which was huge! How could a sword like that fit into a scabbard so small? The sword had white fur below the thumb guard.

"Me and Tetsusaiga are ready to go!" he grinned. Ichigo seemed impressed with the size of Tetsusaiga but reached back and showed off his giant sword. His sword was black with a silver sharp edge.

"Well, Tetsusaiga. Meet my zanpaktō, Zangetsu." Two giant swords that Could Strife would be willing to swing around. But enough about Final Fantasy VII as Edward, Kazuki and Shun watched from above to see which swordsman would deliver the last strike. The ocean breeze shifted the surf and sands where InuYasha and Ichigo waited for the perfect moment to begin. When the winds ceased...the swords came together. CLASH! Tetsusaiga and Zangetsu collided in the middle. A struggle of power pitted the young fighters.

"You've got a lot of guts facing the blade that can kill 100 demons in a single swing!"

"Really?! I'd love to see that! Zangetsu has a second form if you want to see it in action!" Must these two up the ante when there's no real reason? Ichigo stepped back, allowing Tetsusaiga to hit the beach. Ichigo regained a fighting stance with InuYasha winding his sword. Transparent winds merged, swirling around Tetsusaiga.

"Let's see you stop this! Wind Scar!" InuYasha swung his sword, blades of wind slashing the air right at Ichigo.

"With pleasure! Getsuga Tenshō!" Ichigo swung his zanpaktō, a crescent blade fired. The blades of wind collided in the middle, enormous blasts of wind kicking up sand and blowing anything that wasn't nailed down. Kazuki, Edward and Shun took cover to prevent anything hitting them. As the burst of winds died down, InuYasha raced ahead but didn't cock back Tetsusaiga.

"Iron Reaver...Soul-!" POW! POW! InuYasha's claw-like hands were stopped with a karate chop with a roundhouse kick which knocked the white-haired back.

"Trying for close combat, huh?" InuYasha was ticked. Tetsusaiga was back in play and both hacked and slashed to take down the opponent. That's when InuYasha got Tetsusaiga ready for a big strike.

"Backlash Wave!" A swing produced a laser-like twister. Ichigo did another Getsuga Tenshō but the combination blasted him back and down and InuYasha leaped for the last strike. "It's over!" The boys at the top watched in amusement and horror that InuYasha was going to destroy Ichigo. Only a miracle could save Ichigo now.

"SIT BOY!" Kagome, now in a blue swimsuit and black sarong shouted. The shout activated the beads around InuYasha, glowing brightly. THWOMP! InuYasha was "pulled" to the beach in a heavy slam, face and stomach first. OUCH! Ichigo sat up, stunned at the rescue by Kagome. InuYasha was less than pleased that she ran interference.

"Kagome! What was that for?!" Kagome was steamed and nothing anyone, not even those up on the balcony, would do anything to calm her down.

"SIT, BOY! SIT, BOY! SIT, BOY! SIT!" The more times she yelled "SIT!", the more InuYasha's face, Tetsusaiga, samurai garb and...everything else gets buried in the sand with a thunderous thud. Kagome must not have approved of the sun-rising fight. More at ease, Kagome dashed over to Ichigo to tend to his injuries. "Are you okay?" Other than a few cuts and some fatigue...

"I'm good," he summed up his pain as he got helped up. Those on the balcony watched in awe. Kagome and Ichigo, an item?

"Anyone else think that Kagome might have a thing for Ichigo?" Edward questioned. A little later, InuYasha was on the jetty, watching the waves crash on the rocks. After what happened, a calming ocean breeze and splashes of water was all he wanted to see with Kagome still ticked at him. Everyone else was up. Maybe Miharu could cook something to help him or maybe Togepi could help lift his feelings...but Edward chose to join him. "That was a pretty good fight you had!" InuYasha glared at Edward, not sure if he should be talking.

"What's it to you?" he groaned.

"You don't need to be harsh about it. Sure, Kagome jumped in the middle of action but at least you and Ichigo showed some awesome attacks." It didn't make InuYasha feel any better.

"Like you could fight me, a half-demon."

"Big deal! I fight homunculi and they're seemingly immortal." He got over to one rock and transmuted it to a sword which would rival Tetsusaiga and Zangetsu. Seeing the sword, InuYasha wondered if that sword is legit.

"What the-" Edward cradled the sword on his shoulder as Winry came forward with, interestingly, Kazuki trailing.

"So, what do you say? At least no one will get in our way in a proper place from Kagome or Winry." Speaking of Winry, she cocked back a monkey wrench. POW! InuYasha saw in shock as Winry clocked Edward into the water. Winry must have heard from Kagome about the fight and saw Edward on the jetty with InuYasha. Keep in mind, she's wearing a black strap-less bikini and swimming trunks. Kazuki was a bit frightened by the actions of Winry.

"Ed!" she screamed. "No violence on vacation!" A little late for that, there was violence with Ash punting Chamo though there was a legitimate reason, a half-ton of girls beating on Negi for accusations involving Chamo and let's not forget InuYasha vs. Ichigo. "You okay, InuYasha?" InuYasha nodded as Winry tended to him. This irked Kazuki more. First was Kagome to Ichigo and now there's that. Edward bobbed out of the water and clasped the jetty rocks, heavily gasping for air.

"Dammit, Winry! You know I can't swim with the auto-mail!" Winry chucked the wrench, decking Edward square in the head, knocking him out and sinking back in the drink.

"Stay in there and cool off!" Going right back to communicating with InuYasha, could there be a new blend of pairings in the works? Kazuki couldn't hold his eyewitness accounts as he later chatted with Simon, Rebecca, Misty and TK.

"Kagome with Ichigo and Winry with InuYasha?" TK gulped, the winged piglet by his head.

"Yeah, if I didn't wake up to get cooking tips from Shun, I would've had a hard time trying to understand the sights I saw," Kazuki replied.

"Yeah, hard time like not believing it," Misty joked. "Though it does leave me wondering if these are true, could Orihime be the next to show feelings for Edward?" It left Simon and Kazuki wondering. Rebecca? Not so much.

"Doubtful," she shrugged. "All it is, just coincidences that the girls were only preventing their significant partners from damaging their reputations with frivolous bouts, just male testosterone running rampant." A pretty straightforward insight where even Simon had a reply to this.

"That's rather harsh to say," he murmured. "I mean we all thought the big fight would involve Serena, Misty and Askua." Misty scowled the names of the mentioned. Must she do that in front of her Pokémon in her arms?

"Must you bring them up?" she scorned. TK and Rebecca had to be wondering about this attitude from the redhead in the group.

"Why are you getting so defensive?" he asked. Misty gulped, not sure how to answer that question.

"I can understand Asuka kissing Ash getting on your nerves," the piglet reminded. "But Serena's another story." Misty seemed to forget why she was mad at Serena until Kazuki remembered something...from like the first day.

"Did it have something to do with Darrien?" he thought back. Of course, Misty chased after Darrien for his handsomeness.

"Oh, yeah!" she finally recalled. "I kinda had that 'Love at First Sight' moment." She released a flustered sigh, not too sure about believing her own actions. Their conversation was about to have additions.

"Kazuki?" voiced Yuna as she, in a pink bikini and shorts, and Ash in a pair of blue shorts entered the scene. "You aren't making out with either of these young girls, are you?" Misty and Rebecca waved it off.

"Not a chance," Kazuki denied. "We were just talking about what happened this morning involving the three boys and a fight." See, Yuna was getting worried over nothing.

"Anyway, any reason you two are together?" TK pointed out. This explanation should be good.

"She was helping me with some Pokémon training," Ash clarified. "I gotta say that her magic targets do offer an awesome challenge for Bayleef and Pikachu." Misty was rather happy to see Ash put in some training for his tournament run upcoming and that Yuna was providing some help.

"Just because you're not in your world doesn't mean you cannot be doing your world-thing," Simon summed up. Ash stood confident about how his Pokémon will fare.

"Never hurts to have some extra help." That's when Misty noticed someone missing.

"Uh, Ash?" she spoke up. "Where's Larvitar?" Ash pointed Larvitar making sand castles with Kari, Mesousa and Gatomon. Ash had to be wondering what made Ruri so different from Misty for Larvitar.

"I saw Kari warming Larvitar to her so I'm not surprised to see her and Larvitar together," Simon recalled. Rebecca pondered that if Kari could get the Rock Skin Pokémon to befriend her, she could be able to at least talk to it. She made her way to the small group.

"That's a pretty good castle you're doing," she praised. Larvitar jumped and froze at the sight of Rebecca. Seeing the freak out, Rebecca wondered this stunning turn. To Ash, this couldn't end good.

"Cover your ears," he warned. The group plugged fingers into their ears including Kari.

"What the hell for?" That's when Larvitar released an excruciating screech which rocked the island, literally. Everyone who didn't take Ash's advice were punished with the ear-splitting shout. Not even those in the "Staff Room" were safe.

"What the hell's up with that sound?!" Emma yelled.

"This is one hell of a way to make sure your hearing's in great shape!" Pete struggled. Kari raced over and picked Larvitar up, petting it to ease the fear.

"I'm right here, Larvitar!" Kari called out. Larvitar felt Kari's body, quickly calming down. It felt humiliated about it screeching because of Rebecca. This brought back what Ash explained about Larvitar during the first night. "I think Larvitar feels very protective around you and doesn't want anyone who can be hostile to you or him." Was that why Larvitar screeched? He thought Rebecca would inflict harm onto him or Ash?

"That would also explain why it didn't react like that to Mesousa or Gatomon," Ash added. That's when the other beach-goers, including the ones inside their rooms glared right at the Rock Skin Pokémon. They realized that the little Pokémon ruined a pretty good day. Larvitar felt the presences of those who were eying him, gradually frightened.

"I think everyone's wondering about Larvitar after that outburst," TK observed. "And I can't really blame them." Then, all saw how scared Larvtiar acted, backing off and returning to whatever they were doing, some distancing from the sight.

"That could have been ugly," Simon huffed a sigh. Kari turned to Ash while still carrying Larvitar on her shoulder.

"If it's all right, I wanna keep Larvitar in our room for the night," she requested. Ash wasn't sure if it was a good idea to allow someone like her to take one of his Pokémon for a night. Then again, it would be away from Misty and Rebecca.

"I guess so," Ash shyly decided. "You think you can behave around Kari, Larvitar?" Larvitar barked an acknowledgement that it would be nice to Kari and TK. That night, the three dawn warriors were sitting at the same table in the dining hall. This was definitely a frustratingly bad day for the three. Just imagine their glum mugs. Though Ichigo, back in a t-shirt and jeans, had it the easiest, he wished the fight with InuYasha would've gone further. Could he have bounced back from his Backlash Wave? Would he have resorted to Zangetsu's second form?

"As if it wasn't bad enough that our fight was stopped because of Kagome," he groaned. "Rumors are now swirling about screwed up relationships involving our friends." Edward couldn't believe that someone would be after him, despite that it's just a rumor.

"Why would Orihime have any interest in me?" he whimpered. "We hardly even talk."

"Like I said, Edward. It's not exactly true."

"Even so, I would find it scary if it was," InuYasha figured. "I mean...Kagome came to your aid after 'sitting' me down." Ichigo huffed a giggle, amused at InuYasha's point.

"I'll tell ya, your Wind Scar and Backlash Wave are awesome. Hell, you could give Kenpachi and Byakuya a run for their lives."

"Like _I_ said, Tetsusaiga is about as powerful a demon sword should be. It was forged out of my father's fang." To the other two, that dad's fang which was used to make the sword shared a family property to InuYasha.

"I hope I do not get caught up in any sword battles that you guys do," sounded Miharu as she entered carrying a tray with sundaes. The boys turned to the pink-haired female, stunned that she was listening to the story.

"How long have you been here?" Ichigo asked.

"Not long. I saw you three at the table with nothing so I thought I treat you."

"Well, thanks...I suppose," Edward praised.

"I think it's a wonderful thing for the boys since if this was a part of Seiren, there would be unrest." The boys now wondered about this place Miharu blurted.

"What about Seiren?" Ichigo questioned.

"Well, it's a world that's like Earth except that less than 10% of the population is male. Males are an endangered species." Gawks from the boys had to wonder what kind of world would have men as a rare kind of person on this Seiren.

"Why do I have a bad feeling that men on Seiren are hunted down and killed?" InuYasha gulped, not just from swallowing ice cream.

"Well, women do hunt men but they prefer to mate than destroy." And that's suppose to make things easier for the guys?

"If there's one person I could think of that would be on that world, it's Miroku. That lecherous monk wouldn't leave any girl, not even Sango alone."

"That goes the same for a few friends and a captain I know," Ichigo hummed. "Ed, what about you?" Edward had a minute to wonder about anyone he'd know who would fit on Seiren.

"No one I can think of," he entered the blank. "But I bet that Ash would work for that world. Let's face it...Asuka, Nodoka, Kari, Serena, Yuna...that guy's a true chick magnet despite that he's younger than me. Hell, I wouldn't doubt Winry, Kagome or Orihime could stay away from him even if they try." Miharu had to wonder if maybe she'd be right for Ash.

"Could...I be falling for him, too?" she thought with a befuddled glare.

"I don't know..." Ichigo doubted a little. "I mean...he's not even trying to get anyone, they're just coming to him. Know what I mean?" Not really from the confused faces of the other three.

"Coming...like saying welcome?"

"Sorta, Miharu. It's like Edward when he demonstrated his alchemy for all of us to see since we never seen alchemy before, let alone in that form." Miharu seemed clarified about Ichigo's explanation.

"I think I get it." InuYasha finished his sundae and stood up.

"I think I'll turn in for the night," he announced. "See ya tomorrow." He left, on his way back to his room. It was a rather intense day for the islanders and after three days, it could be exciting later on.

* * *

END OF DAY 3. TO BE CONTINUED...

(I'm gonna leave a choice for you in my poll for Day 4. Would you want the characters in a volleyball match or a movie night? Winner gets Day 4 while the runner-up gets Day 5)


	5. Day 4

_Day 4_

* * *

Mostly sunny skies, light ocean breezes, comforting warm ocean water...just another perfect day in paradise. Shinji woke in the early morning to get a great whiff of sunshine air. So far, he hasn't had any real action during his stay with Asuka...and everyone else on the island. If he wanted to be alone, he forgot to put a sign that confirmed this. Nia had awaken to make breakfast for Simon as she exited her room with a mole rat on her shoulder. The sight of Shinji on the beach looking out to the ocean made her curious. She journeyed to the sands and reached Shinji. "Good morning, Mr. Ikari!" she greeted. Shinji turned to the voice.

"Oh, Nia," he lightly jumped in surprise. "Good morning to you, too." Shinji rose to his feet to brush off the sand stuck to his butt. "Are you heading in the kitchen to make breakfast?" Nia nodded to Shinji's suspicions.

"But it's for Simon. I wasn't really planning on making it for anyone else." Shinji willfully forgave her, not minding her shortsightedness one bit.

"That's okay. I can make something for myself. I was doing food since Misato prefers alcohol over caffeine everyday." Someone doesn't appreciate the liver God gave her. That's when Shinji saw the flowers in her eyes, literally, curious about something. "By the way, what's with the flowers in your eyes. I mean, can you see okay?"

"Absolutely! I don't know why I have them but I don't mind them one bit." Well, if her eyesight's okay, no reason to be concern about it.

"Okay, then. Sorry about that."

"It's alright. Simon doesn't mind them either." The two strolled over to the free kitchen, making food for their significant others. As the sun rose higher in the morning, the others were filing out onto the beach to soak in the UV rays. Misty was in her assigned room where she and the Pokémon began to watch something on the TV.

"Well, let's go back to the top of the course where we meet our final contestant, Frank Beasley," a male voice on the TV welcomed. "His friends say that he's a force of nature." Claps of thunder echoed from the speakers, scaring Larvitar. It wouldn't have helped that Misty turned the volume up to the max.

"Huh, you don't say," a second male voice acknowledged. Then, a horn followed by a weird, incoherent shout.

"Jill, you okay down there?" A fierce wind swam the speakers.

"Well, at least the winds' dying down!" A female sarcastically pointed out.

"Don't worry, Jill," the second male reassured. "We'll knock the force outta her when he reached the hammer doors." Misty was thinking the same thing.

"This is going to be funny," she grinned. Then...a whiff, and Misty was in shock. So were the guys on the tube.

"What the- Wow, he must be a heavy metal ninja!"

"Air nod!" the first realized. "That's not suppose to happen! And now he's...climbing the Sucker Punch Wall!" A few seconds later, a ding rang from the TV. "Oh, the forbidden speed bag!"

"John, this guy's not a force of nature, he's a freak of nature!" Misty and Togepi cringed watching someone get it...where they shouldn't get it.

"Okay, this guy's freaking me out a little bit."

"A little bit?! John, are you not seeing what he's doing to the Qualifier?" Finally, a splash.

"Ah, but he's no match to the Big Balls! Jill, what can you make about this guy?" Jill could only shrug her shoulders seeing Frank tear up the course.

"Frank is crazy," she summed up. Suddenly, a knock on the door. Misty paused the TV and opened the door. Opening it, Misty was met by TK...and some leftover food.

"Sorry for disturbing you," he apologized. "Thought I'd bring you something to eat." Misty wasn't sure whether to accept the eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice and grapefruit. The OJ and grapefruit weren't touched.

"Uh, thanks," she accepted. As she stepped out to take TK's tray, she noticed a volleyball net being set up by Edward, Ash and Serena.

"Like that?" Ash asked as he stretched the nylon net out.

"Perfect!" Edward agreed. Serena placed poles down on the sands, boundary markers to help signal in and out-of-bounds. Misty was curious about the acts being done.

"What's going on?" she wondered.

"Rebecca thought about something for the beach to have fun and came up with some volleyball she wanted to turn into a mix tournament," TK answered. "She wanted everyone to be with her on the beach for it." A volleyball tournament, huh? It sounded like a lot of fun.

"Maybe I should try it out.. Let me eat first." Misty ran back in and share the leftovers with the Pokémon. An hour later, everyone was on the beach in their swimsuits...expect for Rebecca and Edward. Rebecca began to fold blue and pink slips of paper with Edward watching.

"You know, I think you not wanting to take part in this is actually a good thing," she murmured. Edward would agree.

"No kidding," he coughed a sigh. "My auto-mail would get screwed over the sand particles and I'd be way too powerful for something like this. By the way, you're not just handing over the papers like a paperboy, are you?" Rebecca groaned at the misconstrued theory.

"You really think I would do that?" she argued. "Hey, Ash! TK!" Both boys ran to Rebecca, interested in why they were summoned.

"What's up?" Ash opened.

"I need your hats." A draw from a hat, huh? Pikachu ran out to grab Ash's baseball cap while the piglet surprised the four with TK's.

"Got it!" he noted as he dropped the hat into Rebecca's hands.

"Thanks, Patamon!" TK praised. Rebecca stuffed Ash's hat with the blue slips while the pink slips were in TK's.

"Okay, everyone!" she announced, ending the fun for the moment. "We're gonna be playing some beach volleyball today. Before you think it will be between room and room, I'm gonna mix it up." Some people groaned at the kid's ploy. "You could get lucky and draw your roommate." That shut the disapproval. "Boys, you'll be drawing from Ash's hat. Girls, TK's hat. Once you have your number, find the matching number and report to me." Complying, the boys grabbed the blue slips and read numbers from 1-12, same with the girls. Each read numbers off of their slips. Immediately, Asuka ran to Ash, hoping to be working as a team. Ever since giving Chamo the boot, Asuka had an affection toward Ash.

"Ash!" she called out. Ash turned to Asuka with a hopeful wish. "What number did you get?" Instead of telling her, Ash showed her the number on his slip. It read "4." Asuka dipped in shame. Her number was "5." Pretty close. "Dammit. Not quite." Misty found Darrien, hoping to get paired up with him and not Serena.

"Darrien!" she shouted. Darrien looked toward Misty with the same hope as Asuka.

"Hey, Misty," he greeted. "If you're wondering, I got 8." Misty had the face of someone who couldn't believe her luck. She revealed her slip, also reading "8." Misty and Darrien were a team. "Okay!" Soon enough, everyone found their partner and told Rebecca about it. With the teams together, she created a bracket where the teams were placed. By four blank spots were teams of Nodoka and Yukinari, Simon and Yuna, Ash and Miharu and Serena and Shun. The other pairings included Negi and Asuka, Nia and TK, InuYasha and Kari, Alma and Winry, Ichigo and Kagome surprisingly, Kazuki and Ruri and Shinji and Orihime. Rebecca went to work on a bracket which needed an hour to complete. She made a poster for the tournament.

"Okay, everyone, listen up!" she roared out. "I won't show what the champions get but I will show the match-ups. The first match will be Misty Waterflower and Darrien versus Shinji Ikari and Orihime Inoue. Next, Alma Tandouji and Winry Rockbell versus InuYasha and Kari Kamiya. Then it's TK Ishida and Nia Tepplin versus Negi Springfield and Asuka Soryu and the last Wild Card contest is Ichigo Kurosaki and Kagome Higurashi versus Kazuki Shikimori and Ruri Aiba. Thanks to my father who constantly bets on NFL games that I used their bracketology to create this tournament. Okay, without further ado, let's get Misty, Darrien, Shinji and Orihime on the court!" Those named entered the court where Edward tossed a volleyball onto the top of the net where it fell into Misty's arms.

"Got it!" she cheered, Togepi cheering her on with the other creatures. Only Hellbrick wasn't with them, as Ruri clutched it to make sure in hell he stayed quiet.

"Play to 15 and win by two! Let's start this tournament!" With Misty serving, it was under way!

* * *

_(Misty & Darrien/Shinji & Orihime)_

The only skilled players in this bout were Darrien and Orihime while Misty immediately caught onto the game. Shinji...not so much. Some of the serves from Misty bought time for Darrien for spikes and blocks. Orihime did get some spikes in but poor Shinji's face was a ball magnet as he kept getting the volleyball in the face. Asuka would support Shinji in trying to win but she was cold to him. Way to NOT show your support. With one last spike landing in bounds, Rebecca wove her hand over to the side of Misty and Darrien where she leaped into Darrien's arms in a victory hug, much to Serena's chagrin. The final score that Edward was keeping: Misty and Darrien, 15, Orihime and Shinji, five.

* * *

_(Alma & Winry/InuYasha & Kari)_

There was an interesting pair with InuYasha and Kari. Gatomon and Larvitar were cheering for Kari while Ruri rooted for Alma. No support for Winry or InuYasha? Come on, Kagome! You're still mad about the fight yesterday, are you? And what about Edward? Was he mad about what Winry did to him? One was about to get their com muffins. InuYasha was a beast with the spikes despite the shots aimed at his opponents but the setup by Kari made the team the more difficult to overcome. Winry's sets threw InuYasha off target at times but thanks to his teammate, it was plain annoying. The icing on this winning cake: InuYasha's set where Winry anticipated a strong spike to block but Kari tapped it over, forcing Alma to hustle and dig the ball, volleying it _under_ the net. It landed on InuYasha's foot but Rebecca wove the hand to them. InuYasha and Kari won by the score of 15-9. "Man, I didn't think a half-demon and angel would be a great team," InuYasha gloated while giving Kari a fist bump. Kagome had the feeling that this was going to his head.

"Save that for after you win, InuYasha!" she growled. Be careful, you may face him later on.

* * *

_(TK & Nia/Negi & Asuka)_

This was rather interesting: two redhead youths versus two blonds but could you classify Nia as a blond with parts of her hair blue? After seeing the action so far, you'd think Negi would have an idea on how to play volleyball. Well, sort of. However, it wasn't Negi that would be a problem. "I don't think Asuka has an idea that Nia's practically a pro in this game," Simon pointed out to Ash. It's something to keep in mind for when someone were to face her. That sound advice never reached the redhead duo as Nia's spikes had devastating force and neither Asuka or Negi had a chance against her. She had too much going for her and TK was awe-stricken with her power.

"You weren't kidding," Ash realized. It was a shutout and Ash and Shinji reached Asuka to console her after they lost 15-0. Ouch, no contest.

"Not fair!" she whined to Ash as Nia and TK shook hands. Nodoka got by Negi to heal any wounds suffered. There was one more contest that needed to be played out.

* * *

_(Ichigo & Kagome/Kazuki & Ruri)_

This was where the rumors were to be tested among yesterday's beliefs about Ichigo and Kagome. If there was chemistry between the two, they were really showing. The same couldn't be said about Kazuki and Ruri. Neither had any experience despite Alma and Yuna cheering them on. Ichigo and Kagome shared the bumps, sets and spikes and Kazuki and Ruri hardly had an answer for the onslaught. The winning point was Kazuki's bump over the net..._way _over the net. "Out!" Rebecca judged as she rose a hand high while the other hand wove toward Ichigo's side. Kagome cheered her victory but Ichigo kept his composure. Ichigo and Kagome won, 15-2. Those who lost could only sit back and watch the others take part in the next round.

"So, Miss Miyamoto," Shun called up. "Who are we facing in the next round?" Rebecca just put her marker down and revealed the eight teams and their matchups.

"First match will be TK and Nia versus Yukinari and Nodoka," she listed the matches. "This is followed by InuYasha and Kari versus Simon and Yuna. After that, Ash and Miharu versus Ichigo and Kagome and lastly it's Darrien and Misty against Serena and Shun." Darrien versus Serena. Boy, this was about to get awkward.

* * *

_(TK & Nia/Yukinari & Nodoka)_

The second round began and Nia's antiparallel knack came to light once more as with perfect sets from TK and scorching spikes from the mixed colored haired girl. Late in the match, a collision between Nodoka and Yukinari. Both participants hit the sand where Nodoka and Miharu were greatly worried. Nodoka feared that she might have injured her teammate but that wasn't the story. Yukinari was getting up with red spots all over his body. Whoa, what happened to him? TK ran over from the other side to see his opponent's condition. "Where did this rash come from?" Yukinari laughed a little, trying to make light of the issue at hand.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "It's just my girl rash!" This was a very serious issue and no one was certain Yukinari would continue. Rebecca decided to ask.

"Can you still play or are you done?" she asked. Yukinari stood up, the rash being no big deal. However, the score at that point would make it a greater challenge to even win.

"I hate to pull out but with my condition as is and the score, I'm sorry. I'm done." No one wanted to see this match end before someone got 15. Miharu escorted Yukinari back to their room for him to get treatment for this girl rash. The score was TK and Nia ahead 12-4 but due to the forfeit, the match was called and the leaders advanced by default.

* * *

_(InuYasha & Kari/Simon & Yuna)_

InuYasha's brutal spikes had a challenge. Simon and Yuna were challenging the spikes with some redirecting sets then bumps toward the net with another soft set over. This forced InuYasha and Kari to get creative. When InuYasha got set to...set, Kari sprinted up for a leaping boost. You can bet there's nothing in the volleyball rulebook which players can't do that. Kari delivered a wicked hard spike which landed on the line. It was in. "Point!" Rebecca called as her hand was on InuYasha's side.

"_**No way in hell is that legal in volleyball!" **_Hellbrick protested. Chamo happened to have a real rulebook about volleyball, skimming over pages to see about actual rules with hoisting a teammate.

"Nope," the ermine denied as Larvitar and Luna provided extra eyes. "There aren't any rules stating that it's a violation for someone to use their teammate as a boost." Here's another question: where did Chamo acquire that rulebook? The intense match was back and forth until InuYasha let off on some of the power, advice given by Kari. That fooled their opponents and helped InuYasha and Kari claim a 15-12 win. Miharu returned from checking in on Yukinari for their match against Ichigo and Kagome.

* * *

_(Ichigo & Kagome/Ash & Miharu)_

This was a real battle, unlike those Ash had been in with his Pokémon. After watching the other matches so far, Ash and Miharu were becoming a nuisance to Ichigo and Kagome. It was a see-saw match. Neither side wanted to give an inch and even when one had the lead, there were fireworks. Ichigo wasn't feeling any pain from his fight with InuYasha yesterday, becoming more stoke with Ash. Orihime and InuYasha were cheering on Ichigo and Kagome while Ash's Pokémon called for him and Miharu to succeed. Then came the Match Point: Kagome swatted the volleyball over where Miharu hit it at an odd angle which made the ball fly a bit. This was a perfect spiking opportunity for Ash and Ichigo anticipated the volley. Then again, it would be a ploy to throw him out of balance. Go for the block or wait for the direction? Ichigo had gone for the block but a sneering smirk told Ichigo that it was the wrong choice as he tapped the ball to Miharu who got around and spiked a winner. Kagome dove but she was short. "Match Point!" Miharu celebrated by giving Ash a bear hug, nearly turning Ash's ribs into dust. Ash and Miharu won a tight one, 16-14. The last match-up was next.

* * *

_(Darrien & Misty/Shun & Serena)_

This was a nightmare situation for Serena. She was competing against her boyfriend to see who would face Ash and Miharu. Before the contest, InuYasha had an idea for Serena to bring out her best. "Don't focus on Darrien, okay?" he instructed. "Just remember what Misty was doing on the first day ditching Ash for him." He was telling Serena to direct her concentration on Misty. How did that help? Well, it barely did anything. Serena was scoring for her and Shun but Shun was lackluster. He was very robotic and stiff and all the points from the other side were scored around him. Way to pick your shots. When it was over, Darrien consoled Serena while Rebecca chided Shun.

"Did Miss Igurashi not give you Phys Ed?" she scolded. Only a nervous laugh was Shun's answer. Darrien and Misty would meet Ash and Miharu with a 15-4 dominance. That was the end of the second round as four teams were still alive for the grand prize. "Okay, the Semifinals are about ready. The first match is TK and Nia battling InuYasha and Kari. The second is Ash and Miharu versus Darrien and Misty."

* * *

_(TK & Nia/InuYasha & Kari)_

"Boy, I wanna root for TK," Patamon struggled with feelings. "But I don't wanna hurt Kari's feelings alongside." It was an awkward situation as two roommates were facing each other.

"I was just thinking the same thing," Gatomon acknowledged. TK and Kari faced one another on the court.

"Just remember to do our best," TK informed. "I don't want you to think small about it." That node of confidence boosted Kari's will to play.

"Thanks, TK," she praised. Both sides played unbelievably top-notch with a real passion. Nia and InuYasha were scoring the points but not without help from Kari and TK. When both sides reached the double digits, InuYasha was showing some fatigue while Nia still looked raring to go. It was the difference as a winded swordsman was slowed by Nia, including the last point using a baby spike which Kari accidentally kicked.

"Match Point!" Rebecca called. "TK and Nia will plat in the last match!" The Finals had the first team willing 15-11. A good sport, InuYasha was actually happy that he tried out this activity.

"I guess it wasn't that bad of a game," he chuckled. Kagome was a little stunned with InuYasha's good act to the loss. Did she expect him to lash out?

* * *

_(Ash & Miharu/Darrien & Misty)_

"This should be exciting," Misty sneered a grin at Ash. This wasn't like before with Serena and Darrien and TK and Kari. These two were ready to face each other. That competitive nature made this game more fun. Never has the spirit of volleyball shine brighter than this match where both sides really gave it their all. As the match played out, fatigue barely shown itself but Misty was getting sloppy with her sets as some flew over the other side and allowing her opponents to spike winners. A mistake by Darrien finished the match with one awesome block by Ash. With the final score 15-13, Miharu tackled Ash in their victory. Their celebration would be put on hold. There was one more match.

* * *

_(TK & Nia/Ash and Miharu)_

After some rest, Ash and Miharu were back on the court for the last match against TK and Nia. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Final," Rebecca began as she glanced to her right. "On this side, they shutout Negi and Asuka, forced Yukinari and Nodoka into submission and put their team's skills onto Kari and InuYasha. They are the team of Takeru Ishida and Nia Tepplin!" Some of them cheered for the two to win. "Their opponents: They wore out Ichigo and Kagome, and sharpened their talent against Darrien and Misty. They are the team of Ash Ketchum and Miharu Sena Kanaka!" Others rooted for Ash and Miharu to claim victory. Miharu had the first serve which landed out-of-bounds. "Out! Point, TK and Nia!" It was a bad start but Ash patted Miharu on the back, telling her it's okay. Resetting, Nia served and the volleys began. Their goal was the grand prize. Who would win and what would the prize be? What about Yukinari's condition and what caused it in the first place?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(For anyone interested, I used a software program called "The Hat" which allowed me to make the random teams possible for this chapter.)


	6. Night 4

_Night 4_

* * *

The volleyball court was empty. The scoreboard read "19-21." The match between the team of Ash and Miharu and the team of TK and Nia was neck and neck. Who won? At Yukinari's room, Miharu was giving treatment for Yukinari's rash that developed so quickly when his partner landed on top of him. Ash, Miharu's partner, Pikachu, Larvitar and Nodoka, Yukinari's partner, also joined in. "How are you feeling, Yukinari?" Miharu concernedly asked. Most of the rash had dissipated.

"I'll be fine, Miharu," he tried to calm Miharu's worry. "Sorry I couldn't cheer you and Ash on. I guess that's why you two lost." Knowing that Ash and Miharu lost, TK and Nia were crowned the champions of the tournament.

"It's alright, Yukinari," Ash forgave. "However, what happened that made you rash up like that? Your allergy?" Yukinari thought now was the okay time to explain the trouble within himself.

"Yeah, I have an allergy which acts when I make contact to a girl." But Miharu's making contact with him now. "For some reason, Miharu's the only one that doesn't trigger my allergy. If I make contact with Nia or Kari or even Rebecca, boom!" With Miharu practically the only exception, how could Yukinari interact with the island's guests?

"Let me see if I can understand you some more," Nodoka offered as she pulled out a card. The card had her with a giant book on hand. "Adeat!" A flash of light shined in the room before dimming itself. What emerged from the light was a giant brown book and a feather with the tip drenched in black ink. "Okay, Yukinari Sasaki..." Ash, Yukinari, Miharu and the Pokémon wondered where the book and feather came from.

"How did you do that?" Ash questioned. Nodoka just finished writing Yukinari's name before answering.

"This is Pudica Bibliothecaria, my Pactio with Professor Negi. I can use this to read into the thoughts of others, if you don't mind." Yukinari shook his head, not minding Nodoka's awesome ability. Suddenly, drawings in crayon of girls surrounding a boy curled in a fetal position formed. Ash and Pikachu were intrigued. This was what Yukinari suffered through?

"There's a drawing of you surrounded by girls." Yukinari acted quick to explain.

"I was bullied by girls when I was in elementary school," he admitted. "I was short and my face remained rather baby-like. I was ridiculed, being called 'Puny-Nari' because of the lack of height and facial maturity." Ash and Nodoka felt sympathy for the blue-haired victim. "I guess the more I was bullied, the more afraid I was to meet a girl and it manifested into this rash that you saw." Those years of suffering through bullying... Ash shook his head in disgust. Yukinari had gone through a lot due to his figure on the outside. Before long, a brunette teenage girl emerged in a school uniform. Who's could that be?

"Hey, someone new popped up."

"Who?" Miharu asked. Nodoka saw a name appear underneath.

"It reads 'KIRIE,'" she replied. Both Yukinari and Mihaur knew that name.

"Miss Kirie Kojima, Yukinari's neighbor. She's sincere but is sometimes violent."

"She helps me from time to time and quickly beats up Fukuyama when he tries to get too close." Violent. As they continued, a boat ride provided by Pete and Emma was ready to escort TK and Nia. So, the champs got a ride on a boat? Kinda lame. TK, Patamon and Nia hopped on board the boat before Emma started the engine, Pete supervising the scene.

"So, the cavern on the other side of the island?" Emma tried to remember.

"Yeah, it's all set," Pete acknowledged. Emma started the motors on the back of the boat before taking off, Pete waiving them farewell as their grand prize awaited them. Emma powered the boat around the island, conveniently below the same place Ash and Serena spotted dolphins. A cavern was discovered on the cliff's wall as Emma's craft slowed, the wake it left shrinking to nothing.

"In there?" TK pondered.

"Yep," Emma snapped a reply. "You should be proud. Winners of the co-op volleyball tournament, a cavern filled with hammocks, dinner for two, lighting...it's only for tonight. In the morning, I'll come pick you up." On that note, Emma sped off. TK and Patamon entered the cave, viewing so much room with so much in stock. There was a hot tub, a table with food under steel lids, hammocks and a bed for when the two wanted to get close.

"Well, looks like we get our own little bathing treatment," TK chuckled. Nia joined TK and saw the hot tub as well. She wanted to jump in to the tub to feel better about the trip. Too bad TK joined her, not Simon. TK lifted the lid on one item, revealing broiled chicken, steamed corn and carrots, crescent rolls, soup, salad with many dressings, chocolate chip cookies and milk. The hosts really wanted to have the winner take the spoils. Nia didn't go through the same cravings that TK felt but seeing him gawk with his mouth partially drooling, she couldn't help but giggle.

"I take it you're hungry, huh?" she broke his desire. He figured his hunger was starting to get the better of him and immediately calm down.

"Yeah, sorry." Then, they spotted a wide-screen TV with the same controller like back in the hotel room. TK saw an opportunity to check in on Kari to tell her that they arrived at their prized place. Hitting a button, a ringing sounded like from a phone. Suddenly, the screen lit up, Kari on the other side.

"TK!" she recognized. "You and Nia made it?"

"Yeah, otherwise you'd have waited." Kari giggled at TK's humor

"Yeah, I guess so." That's when Nia spotted Larvitar with Gatomon playing around. To Nia, this was odd.

"Why is the Larvitar with you and not with Ash?" she questioned. Kari was quick to reply.

"About that, Ash dropped Larvitar off after Kazuki called the boys about the open-air bath that's been completed by Pete and Neo. They'll be there for an hour before us girls play around. I'm kinda looking forward to the bath." In a sense to Nia, Simon isn't in their room to tell him that she safely arrived to the champions' suite.

"I guess in an hour, I can talk to Simon and tell him that I am with Takeru at the cavern."

"I can let him know. TK, take it easy in there and don't do anything funny, alright?" TK flustered a sigh, thinking Kari was acting like a mother.

"That's something I would get from Matt," he murmured. A last smile from Kari and both sides disconnected from each other. This interested Nia a little.

"Are you and Miss Kari that close?" she asked.

"Not really. We're simply friends, though we've been there when we needed to be." Nia nodded but frowned a little. Did she expect more from him or was she sad that he and Kari weren't in some romantic connection? That being an assumption, did TK have someone else in mind?

"What about on the island? Is there someone who has your interest?" He had to think about it for a second. Did anyone like him? Did he like anyone on the island?

"I guess...one would be Misty. After all, seeing how motherly she is to that baby egg..." Nia wondered if she was also along one of TK's favorites. TK was going to answer her ponder. "You'd be a close second. After all, you were a great help in the volleyball tournament." Nia smiled at the compliment.

"I guess it's one of the things when you're a former princess." TK was stunned. Hearing that Nia was a princess, he realized that he needed to respect Nia more. He itched his head in embarrassment. Meanwhile, the boys were gathering in a giant pool of hot water, steam and...leaves? Wearing nothing but a towel around their waists, Ash, Simon, Darrien, InuYasha, Ichigo, Shun, Negi, Yukinari, Kazuki, Alma, Shinji, Pikachu and Chamo began to soak themselves in the giant pool, soaking and relaxing.

"I'm not one for baths like this," InuYasha murmured. "But the tea leaves really leave us mellow." His opponent from the third day, Ichigo, had no complaints.

"I'm with you on that," he calmly agreed. Pikachu swam in the giant tub as if it was a swimming pool.

"Back in England, we drink tea, not bathe in it," Negi mentioned. The boys were quiet for sometime until Yukinari spoke to Ash.

"So, Brock's the one who chases women in your world, not you," he recalled what was spoken behind closed doors in his and Miharu's room.

"Yeah, but I've been the one who keeps getting the girls for some reason," Ash shyly confirmed. That astonished Kazuki and Shinji. Chamo splashed Ash in enjoyment.

"I knew you were a ladies' man, bro!" he cheered as he rubbed his paw in Ash's hair.

"That would help explain why Asuka fell for you right off the bat," Shinji awed. Kazuki nodded in acknowledgment.

"I've heard of being yourself but you distribute that well," he pointed out. "I mean, I have an entire school of girls after me because I have a bloodline filled with magicians." No one knew what Kazuki meant, not even Pikachu.

("What's this bloodline?") the mouse squeaked. Kazuki didn't understand what Pikachu said.

"What about this bloodline that's so significant to you, Mr. Shikimori?" Negi asked.

"Where I'm from, all of us use magic, even Yuna," he started. "However, we have limits. When we use up what magic we have, we die and turn to dust. It turned out that my bloodline had at least 50 magicians all passed down to me and I've inherited their powers. However, as family to Shinto priests, my magic count's badly low." Kazuki was harshly restricted from using magic. The boys couldn't believe it but considering that everyone was from a different plain of existence, they had to go with his word.

"So, your world also punishes those who ignore warnings, huh?" spoke Edward. The boys heard Edward, not really thinking about what he said. When they turned to see him, they were outright stunned. Edward appeared to have a robotic right arm and he only had one leg...which was very hard to explain. Before, he was walking normally with _two_ legs. Anyone going to ask what happened to him? "Yeah, Winry removed my leg and covered it with a rubber sling tp keep water from getting into my attachments." Edward eased himself into the boiling tea water and instantly became calm. "I'll admit, baths are second to milk of things I hate." Seeing the metallic arm, some of the boys would agree. You'd hate to have your metallic arm rust up.

"What happened to your arm and leg, Ed?" Simon wondered. Edward huffed before he was ready to speak.

"My brother, Alphonse, and I were trying to resurrect our mom using forbidden alchemy. It went awry by the moment I felt my leg dissolving. My leg was gone and Al was being taken from me. I sacrificed my arm to keep Al with me...at least his spirit that I encased in a suit of armor. Thanks to Winry and her grandma, I was given auto-mail to replace my lost limbs. I'm trying to find the Philosopher's Stone to get Al's body back and to get my arm and legs human again." Talk about a tall task for the Elric. Even Yukinari felt sympathy to Edward.

"Have you been teased with your handicap?" he asked. A grunt from Edward was one way to say that he had been mocked. "I mean, I've been teased at for being short and having a baby face." That had Edward turn to Yukinari with interest. Something he said made him feel related.

"You too?" Learning that both Edward and Yukinari were tormented for their lack of height, the boys were easing the anguish put on both.

"Not everyone gets their growth spurt when they need it," Ichigo expressed. "Before long, you two will be growing like nuts." Darrien and Alma bobbed nods, acknowledging Ichigo's word.

"I think we've all had moments when we felt down because of what one has said or did to us," Shinji studied. "I mean...Asuka, my father... I've been tormented to overcome my fears and selfishness. And it's not easy when surrender could mean the end of everything." Shinji proved Ichigo's point. He wasn't the only one.

"I think I had it worse," Darrien spoke. "When I was younger, I was in an auto accident. I was told I suffered a head injury resulting in my amnesia and that my parents were killed. I was never adopted for some reason and I was at the orphanage until I got a job. When I met Serena, I felt better and easier to live." Darrien had found comfort while Shinji had despair. Again, not alone.

"I thought I was lost after Bro was killed in battle against the Spiral Kingdom," Simon spoke up. "But like Serena, when I found Nia and she gave me courage, I felt more comfort and faced her father, Lord Genome." Once, heartbroken. Now, comfort with their women.

"I guess we all have skeletons in the closet that we wanna release," Alma summarized. "Even some who don't say they have. Hellbrick would surely force us to admit, whether with abuse and heartbreak." Words that especially Pikachu and InuYasha would accept. That's when Kazuki noticed that one was missing.

"Ash?" he called out. The boys twisted around. Did Ash leave the pool? Then, Negi spotted Ash underwater, red as a lobster.

"Down there!" he alerted. Seeing the downed Ketchum, Simon and Ichigo dunked beneath the water to pull Ash back up. Ash was out and breathing but he was unconscious. Ichigo knew what occurred.

"A little too much heat in the pool, huh?" he determined. Before anyone had to think about how to treat Ash.

"Gentlemen!" Neo voiced over a speaker system. "Five minutes to finish up. The girls are next." The girls were coming to take a bath while the boys needed to evacuate. This left the boys scrambling in thought. Pikachu was tearing out of his fur in panic of Ash's condition.

"What now?" Yukinari stuttered. A snicker from Chamo was a scheme he dreamed up.

"Find a cool spot for Ash and leave him here," he ordered. The ermine wanted to play a prank on the girls coming in, much to the boys' chagrin. Pikachu was incensed at Chamo's ploy. Recklessly, Shun felt a cooler area far from the entrance's view.

"Hey, over here!" he called out. Chamo saw Shun's hand above the rocks and quickly studied it. Perfect in his sight.

"Awesome!" Surrendering, Ichigo and Simon carried Ash to the spot, fairly warm but it was a nice and cool spot. "Now let's scram before the girls get a hint!" The boys ditched Ash, even Alma had a bad feeling to a potential outcome.

"I doubt TK would approve of this," he murmured. Poor Ash was deserted behind the rocks. After a few minutes which even Pikachu abandoned him, Misty, Kari, Serena, Rebecca, Asuka, Nodoka, Ruri, Yuna, Miharu, Orihime, Kagome, Winry, Togepi, and Kilala entered, their towels concealing their chests. They eased themselves into the tea water and were instantly relaxed.

"_Das f__ü__hlt sich gut..._" Asuka hummed. There's a new language that surprised some of the girls and Togepi.

"Run that again," Misty requested with her hair down and not in that ponytail sticking from the side. "What did you say?"

"That's German for 'that feels good.' I take it your world doesn't have many languages to work with." Misty itched her head with a giggle while blissfully unaware that her friend's close by.

"I guess I'm not the only one who has a second language," Kari spoke in awe, something Rebecca caught on.

"Really?" she jumped. "What language do you have?"

"Mandarin." Rebecca gawked in a bit of a befuddled lapse.

"Mandarin? I thought the language was Chinese." Yuna decided to help with Rebecca's confusion.

"That's often the misconception with people from China," she clarified. "I thought someone who graduated from MIT and became a teacher at a very young age would know that." Just because someone's a teacher doesn't mean they've stopped learning.

"You must have been very intelligent that you'd be in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ms. Miyamoto," Ruri complimented. Rebecca chuckled, surprisingly not stirring Ash who was sinking back into the drink slowly.

"I gotta make sure I attend school more often if I'm gonna do something with my life if I wasn't so caught up looking for the jewel shards," Kagome motioned. The notion of the girls being rather friendly left a smile on Serena.

"I think this is the best night for all of us to be together," she pointed out. "I mean, we've been at each other for some reason or another and yet, we're all taking a bath in peace." Misty didn't realize it until now that no one was complaining with one another.

"Yeah, I didn't even think about it until you brought it up," she laughed. "Then again, I remember that Kagome, Orihime and Winry were arguing about Edward, InuYasha and Ichigo." It took a second or two for Winry to figure out what she was meaning.

"Oh, yeah," she recalled. "That fight yesterday." The duel between the two that ended with Kagome "sitting" InuYasha. "Those two wanted to test their manhood with each other but I gotta thank Kagome for preventing bloodshed." No one was aware of Togepi drifting to where Ash was in its floatation ring. It was busy enjoying the girls talk...until it saw Ash just about to completely submerge again. It acted fast with screeching. Hearing the egg, the girls turned to the Pokémon.

"Togepi, what's wrong?" Nodoka asked. It frantically pointed to the lone boy who was ditched. Rebecca and Serena got to Togepi's side and eyed him, screaming in surprise. The rest gathered to see Ash, still unconscious. "Ash!?"

"What the hell is he doing here!?" Rebecca growled. Some of the girls were willing to beat the living daylights out of Ash for rudely joining the bath with the girls until Kari saw something not right.

"Hold on a sec!" she tried to back the girls from committing murder. She and Miharu got to and hoisted Ash from drowning. Feeling Ash's burning forehead and considering how warm the bath was, Kari knew Ash was in dire straits. "He's in hyperthermia!" Serena urged a clarification.

"How is he cold in this bath?" she believed.

"I said '_hyper_therima,' not '_hypo_thermia!' He's way too warm!" With Orihime and Yuna's help, Ash was dragged to the dry rocks, his body shriveled like a raisin. Nodoka grabbed a few ice packs and a towel to place on Ash's forehead and chest, his head cradled on Kari's lap. Several minutes after docked, Ash began to stir, his first image being...

"Ruri?" he weakly groaned watching Ruri towelling Ash dry. Seeing Ash waking up brought relief to the towel-garbed girls.

"Take it easy, Ash," she cautioned. "You were in the bath for a long time." Ash shifted his eyes to see the rest of the girls, some discussing how the guys forgot Ash. He noticed that information and slightly panicked.

"Oh no...why am I bathing with you?" Asuka saw the nervous concern on him.

"Methinks that the boys wanted to joke on you," she guessed. "If you did this voluntarily, you'd be bloodied up." This was odd to Ash. He's in there with almost naked girls and it's like they've pretty much accepted his dilemma.

"So, why am I not getting beaten up now?" Kari placed a hand on Ash's cheek, advising him to take it easy.

"You've been punished enough with the water," Kari giggled. For Ash to be placed in a situation that could have meant major harm didn't settle well with him or the girls.

"What do we do about this?" Nodoka wondered. A snicker from Winry told Ash and the girls she had a plan.

"Here's what we do," she schemed. About a half an hour later, lights from most of the rooms lit up. The boys back dressed for sleep saw the lit button and each hit. Boy, was this going to be fun. The screen flashed on with Winry and Asuka facing the camera. "Gentlemen, we've captured your spy." The camera turned to view Ash on a chair, tied up and secured by Rebecca and Kagome.

"That was a pretty good ploy you sneaked on us, girls," Asuka gloated. "But now, he's going to be severely punished for your trick of voyeurism. If you wanna spare injury, come and get him." The boys found out their joke had gone too far. Ash was going to be in need of a hospital room for their prank. They should have stayed in their rooms. The boys burst down the door to the bath...with a yellow owl perched on the fence. The boys searched around for Ash, not finding him or the girls.

"Sit, boy!" was Kagome's shout, the command activating the beads and slamming InuYasha on the rocks. Now, who's joking who?

"Confusion, Noctowl!" Ash yelled. When the boys heard Ash, the owl's eyebrows lit blue before emitting a wave of energy which floored everyone else. When InuYasha looked up, death stares from Ash and the girls told them that _they _were the ones in trouble. "Nice joke, guys. But let's see how you like this." The girls and Ash moved in. The last thing to be known was the screaming of pain from the boys. If they wanted to be screwed, this wasn't what they had in mind. TK woke from the screams, alerting Patamon as well.

"Is something wrong, TK?" it noticed. Immediately, the boy's concern was Kari.

"I just hope Kari's not doing anything extreme," he muttered. She's fine, just repaying a prank. Who knows what happened to the boys beyond the gates to the bath. The victim and his female accomplices would know and TK and Nia would find out the next morning.

* * *

DAY 4 COMPLETE, TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Have a happy Thanksgiving, everyone)


	7. Day 5, Night 5

_Day 5, Night 5_

* * *

Daybreak. Emma paddled over to the cavern to pick up TK, Nia and Patamon from their one-night getaway. Their timing to get away from their friends couldn't have been better planned. Stopping by the entrance of the cave, Emma waited for the few inside. After they had breakfast, the three filed out to the boat and paddled back to shore. Emma's distraught face alerted Nia's concern. "Miss Iveli," she opened up. "Is something wrong?" Emma wanted to say something but the words had a hard time setting the sentence up.

"Let's just say you'll know when we get to shore," she shortened.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good," Patamon worried. Just as the shoreline was visible, the group saw crosses sticking from the sand. 12 wooden crosses draped across the edge of the beach. That's when those on the boat saw who was on the crosses. Darrien, Simon, Alma, Shun, Kazuki, Shinji, Ichigo, InuYasha, Negi, Yukinari, Edward and Chamo were tied up on the crosses. They were also beaten up pretty badly.

"Now I know how Jesus Christ feels when he was crucified," Negi mulled. "At least the girls used rope and not stakes." Seeing Simon, Nia ran to his aid.

"Simon!" she shouted. Simon opened his eyes, still reeling from the attack from the other girls last night, opened his eyes.

"H-Hey, Nia," he weakly greeted. Nia wanted to know what occurred last night that "crucified" this dozen.

"What happened, Simon? Who did this to you?!" You could tell how upset she was. Shun answered for Simon as TK looked on rather puzzled. Ash wasn't accounted for.

"We were being jerks to the girls," Shun answered. "Though, the biggest one was the ermine." Chamo huffed a sigh.

"Thanks for saying the right animal," he murmured. TK came back to Nia's side, also desiring answers.

"Ash is the only one missing from the boys," he noticed. Simon had to confess for the group.

"He was supposed to be the butt of the joke," he explained. "But I think the girls caught on. Our joke backfired." Ouch! Ichigo chose to explain the joke.

"He fell unconscious in the bath and the ermine pretty much said let the girls deal with him," he continued. "Suffice to say, they did and returned the favor." Meanwhile in the kitchen, Ash a few girls were making breakfast. Misty, Kari, Yuna, Miharu and Orihime, along with the creatures, traded ingredients for the morning meal. TK and Nia entered the kitchen and watched the hubbub.

"Hey, girls!" TK welcomed. Misty and Kari saw the other boy not tied up to the crosses.

"TK!" Misty greeted.

"How was your trip?" Kari asked.

"Relaxing," Nia summed up. "But what happened to Simon? And all those other boys?" Misty offered the explanation.

"Those guys ditched Ash after he passed out in the open-air bath," she clarified. "When we found him, we brought him back to life and gave the boys a taste of their own medicine." You can bet those boys are feeling the pain of doing that to Ash. "Anyway, did you guys eat?"

"Yeah, we're fine," TK acknowledged. Eying how close Misty was to TK had Yuna a little concerned for Ash.

"Don't you think Misty's getting a little comfortable with TK, Ash?" she questioned. Ash thought nothing of it being a big deal.

"Not really," he shrugged. Yuna thought that maybe Ash had found someone on the island that he liked.

"Well, is there someone you think is special? Like maybe Ruri or Kagome?" Ash thought about it for a little while. Was there someone that he met on the island that had his attention?

"Can I count you, too?" Yuna hiccuped to the suggestion. Never thought that she'd be a target for his attention.

"K-Keep in mind that I'm Kazuki's wife, though I do appreciate it." Ash snickered at her claim of marriage.

"Oh, really? When's the wedding? And are we invited?" Yuna was backed to a figurative corner. Ash pointed out that there's no wedding ring, bracelet, anything to specify that she and Kazuki were a couple.

"Well- uh..." Ash returned to his train of thought.

"Actually, I can't really decide. I've enjoyed this vacation and met many new friends...other than last night." Yeah, last night wasn't so enjoyable for Ash. But why not? He got to see (nearly) naked girls from Rebecca to Asuka to Winry!

"There's nothing wrong with not having a clear favorite, Ash," Luna comforted. Rather unsettling to hear soothing realizations from a black cat.

"_**Though, how the hell could you not have a favorite on this escape?" **_Hellbrick criticized. **_"Even your friend enjoys the hell out of Darrien and now TK!" _**For a talking piece of rock, Hellbrick seemed the embodiment of logic.

"Is that a rule that I'm supposed to have a favorite?" Ash "Not just everyone and yourself?" Hellbrick just "sat" there, rolling his eyes from Ash.

"_**Never, in hell, put me in the same subject."**_ Was Hellbrick embarrassed? The stone's words had Ash reconsider.

"Well, if you're gonna put me in that corner, I guess it would be Kari." Kari heard her name and turned to Ash. The conversation between Ash and Hellbrick stemmed to ask why Ash would choose her.

"Not that I don't like your choice but why Kari?" Orihime wondered.

"You and Serena told me that Kari stopped the rest from beating me up after I passed out while we waited for the guys to come 'rescue me.' Plus, she became Larvitar's first new friend since it hatched." Okay, a couple of examples, not bad.

"Come on, Ash," Kari shyly giggled. "You're embarrassing me." Gatomon helped comfort her, jumping on her shoulder.

"Hey, that's a good thing!" she mewed. "I mean, your way with other creatures, even other Digimon, you're more likely a veterinarian in the making." Mesousa nodded in agreement. Just then, Pete entered the kitchen.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted.

"_**How the hell are you, Pete?"**_ Hellbrick welcomed. Pete wasn't in too much of a mood to converse.

"I cut down the boys from their crucifixes. I won't ask about why they were up here but there's a big storm coming. It's supposed to last into the evening." The girls gasped, hoping that the storm wasn't too serious that it could blow everything down. "Emma's informed the others about the storm." Knowing that the storm was on its way, everyone in the kitchen grabbed what they could to eat and bolted for their rooms. It was well-timed as gale-force winds and sheets of icy rain poured the sands and plants on the island. The pairs of island-goers watched the sheets of pounding rain splash the windows. From the front office, the three hosts watched on a computer screen of an island disappearing under a huge splotch of green and some yellow and orange.

"This is a big one," Neo gulped. "Not as big as the one that hit Louisiana." Emma knew what Neo referred to.

"Yeah, Hurricane Katrina," she reminded. "Lucky that we were far west and you were in the north, right, Pete?" Pete nodded to the information.

"Yeah, but FEMA got screwed by the public for its slow response," Pete remembered. Emma and Neo shook their head, trying to forget that tidbit. Flashes of lightning and thunder that sounded from speakers at full blast rattled the island, much those on it. Everyone was relieved to be inside when the storm first echoed. Serena and Darrien watched helplessly as the storm showed that strength.

"Thank goodness for Emma and Pete warning us about this storm," Serena praised. Darrien and Luna nodded.

"I know a music station that we can listen to while the storm passes over us," he offered.

"Okay!" As Darrien snagged the remote, he noticed a flash from the communicator buttons. Right away, he realized who it was.

"Hey, it's from Kazuki and Yuna! Wonder what they want?" Darrien pressed the button and Kazuki popped on the screen.

"Darrien!" he called. "Serena!"

"Kaz, what's up?"

"Yuna had contacted the front desk and they say that the storm's gonna end around 6:30 tonight. I was thinking that we could all watch a movie as a group." A movie after a storm would be a good idea.

"Sure!" Serena agreed to the idea. "What movie is it?"

"It's a scary one that I think we could use but I won't say the title. I'm contacting the rest to see if they're interested."

"Hey, count us in!" Darrien accepted. Kazuki had contacted the other rooms with almost everyone going. Hours passed since the storm made landfall that it passed over. The sun descended below the ocean and Yuna and Shun were setting the chairs and a large screen. Ichigo wheeled out a projector and set it on the softened sands. This was going to be big. Reading the watch, Shun had time for something.

"I'll go get the popcorn ready," he volunteered.

"Thanks, Shun," Ichigo allowed. As Shun dashed to the kitchen, Kazuki came out with a disc.

"I got the movie!" he informed. Ichigo looked at the movie, a nod saying that Kazuki found what he was looking for.

"This is it, all right. Good work." Kazuki smiled at the good fortune. That's when he saw a lot of seats. There were five seat in each section of three per side of the projector.

"Is there a reason we have five...ten...15...30 seats? I mean, there's 26 of us on the island." Ichigo had an answer for Kazuki's befuddled reaction.

"In case the hosts wanna watch it with us. After all, they gave us this island to play on, so why not pay them back?" As insightful as Ichigo meant, Kazuki still felt it was too many seats. It's only _one _extra seat.

"I meant that Ash isn't gonna watch it with us." Okay, _two_ extra seats. "When I mentioned scary movie, he opted to keep an eye on Larvitar and Togepi instead." Ichigo bummed. Ash wasn't going to see a horror film with the other islanders.

"Well, I supposed that he wanted to make sure the creatures aren't mentally scarred." Then, Ichigo backtracked. "But isn't Togepi...Misty's creature?" Last we checked, it was.

"Togepi's only a baby," voiced Kagome as she arrived with Kilala. "I mean, how would you feel if you saw a scary movie before kindergarten?" Ichigo and Kazuki patted the back of their heads, understanding Misty's place.

"I see what you mean." Soon enough, the islanders began arriving at the location of the movie, including Misty and Pikachu. In Ash's room, the projection screen blocked the view of what movie the rest were going to watch. Togepi sadly chirped at not watching the film with his trainer. Larvitar consoled the egg.

"Misty's just looking out for you, Togepi," Ash reassured. "You'll understand." It didn't brighten the mood for Togepi. Suddenly, a knock. Someone here but who? Ash opened the door, revealing Nodoka. Huh, why was she here?

"Hi, Ash," she shyly greeted. "Can I come in?" Ash stepped aside and allowed the purple-haired girl in the room.

"You're not seeing the film?" Nodoka shook her head. Not a big fan of fright huh?

"If I wanted to watch a movie, I'd rather see a romantic one, not horror." The frailty to her voice had Ash believing her. Her heart was not one for films of fright.

"I guess I can understand." So now, that's _three_ open spots.

"By the way, did you say that you like Kari the most? Not that I'm...jealous." Let Ash be the judge of that.

"I did it to shut that piece of talking rock. Honestly, I prefer everyone equally." So, he _didn't _like Kari more? It was just to get Hellbrick off his back?

"I see." Togepi got to Nodoka, concerned about what fears she faced. Smiling, Nodoka lifted the egg and hugged it. "I forgot to thank you for warning us about Ash." That put a glee on Togepi. "Are you gonna watch a movie? If not the same?" Ash wanted to say so but he itched his head in some shame.

"Not really." Unaware to anyone in the room, Kari entered, a DVD in hand.

"I think I got a movie for all of us," she announced. "'Castle in the Sky'?" Gatomon and Mesousa came in after Kari.

"Sure!" Nodoka agreed. Back outside, Shun handed out bags of popcorn to their films. Some had soda while others opted to dry their throats for the movie with the title: "Eight-Legged Freaks." Hm, what could that movie be about? Ash's room sat and had chips and candy as they had their featured film. Ash was in the best place being between Kari and Nodoka. For the couple of hours, everyone, including Pete and Neo who sneaked in to see the group's movie. Edward noticed Misty bugging out. Seeing giant spiders in a movie would creep out those who can't stand bugs. Ash, Kari, Nodoka and the animals watched their movie, the girls' hands so close to Ash's hands that they could touch him. That's when one scene made the girls jump, their hands landing on Ash's. Not noticing, they squeezed Ash's hands, tension building in their movie. Unconsciously, Ash gripped the two hands, braced with the film's drama. The creatures fell asleep so they had no clue of the three-way. The movies ended at around the same time. The crowd applauded the movie while the three in Ash's room teared up. "Castle in the Sky" seemed like an emotional film.

"Pazu and Sheeta," Kari huffed with a smile. "You know, in a sense, I wanna be like them."

"Yeah, so do I," Nodoka agreed. "Having someone be there and help you through the trouble's that surround you..." She rested her free hand on her chest, feeling her heat beating. "Just someone that you'd eventually fall in love with." Ash and Kari believed Nodoka.

"Exactly what I'm talking about." That's when Ash noticed his hands were occupied. Kari had one hand and Nodoka held the other.

"This is rather new," he peered. The girls looked at Ash who continued looking down at his...or their hands. When the girls bent their heads, Kari saw Nodoka's hand on Ash and Nodoka saw Kari's hand on Ash. Did Kari have feelings for Ash? Did Nodoka have feelings for Ash? Did Ash have feelings for either?

"Wow!" Nodoka awed. Then her mind began to wonder what her heart wanted. 'W-Wait a second! Could I be falling for this boy? I mean, he's around the same age as Prof. Negi. Does this mean that I'm losing my focus on Prof. Negi?' She's not the only one and Kari's thought process reacted just about the same.

'Me and Ash...together?" she pondered in thought. 'I mean...TK and I are friends and Davis is obsessed about me. I don't wanna break Ash and Misty if there's anything going on between them.' Ash saw blushing faces on the girls. It was like he needed to make a choice: Kari or Nodoka? Before he was forced to choose and tear the heart of one with the decision of the other, a knock at the door. Ash opened it, Shinji and Serena carrying Misty who looked stiff as a board. Pikachu came after, worried about his human friend.

"I've heard of scared stiff," Shinji murmured. "But I never thought I'd see the real thing." Ash and the girls had to wonder what turned Misty into a human surfboard.

"I'm not a fan of spiders," Serena commented on the movie. "But man, Misty had to have a nasty experience with them." Ash figured out what happened to Misty.

"Misty hates bugs, even Bug Pokémon," he pointed out. Clued in, all wondered why Misty would want to see a movie with spiders in it. Maybe she didn't know that there were spiders.

"Well, if Ichigo told us about what's in it," Shinji theorized. Misty wouldn't experience those fears.

"Right, I think we get it," Kari summed up. Shinji and Serena loaded Misty into bed still frozen. Receiving thanks, Shinji and Serena departed to be back with their partners. Kari and Nodoka thought it would be a good idea to leave as well with Gatomon and Mesousa, if only to let Misty recover. "We got like a day and a half left on the island. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay, you two take care," he acknowledged. When the door closed, questions opened.

"So, you like Ash, huh, Nodoka?" The purple-haired teen's face bled red blushing. The thought of love seemed much for her to take.

"Well, uh- I mean- uh..." she badly stuttered. "You held his hand, too!" Kari knew that she held one of Ash's hands.

"And he held ours. I almost wanna ask who he likes more: you or me?" Nodoka realized Kari's point.

"Well, I can't really forget Prof. Negi. So I can let you have him." Kari took a step back in surprise. Nodoka wanted to bow out of taking Ash's hand for good and allow Kari to take him.

"W-W-Wait a second! You don't want Ash? I wouldn't be angry if you did. I wouldn't mind Asuka or Miharu or even Rebecca if they wanted Ash for themselves." Larvitar stepped out, awakened by the discussion.

("What's going on?") the creature asked. Hearing Larvitar, the two girls spotted the awakened Pokémon.

"Larvitar!" Nodoka noticed. Kari knelt and petted the creature.

"Sorry if we woke you up," she apologized. "We were discussing who should be with Ash if Misty doesn't work with him." Larvitar darted his eyes at the door, thinking about the one who had taken care of him since he was picked up for a return to a preserve. "You don't have to choose for us. I'm sure he can pick." Larvitar surrendered and let the girls go, Nodoka returning Mesousa to Rebecca. As night fell, something over the shifting clouds would bring a little chaos into the mix.

* * *

DAY 5 COMPLETE, TO BE CONTINUED...  
(On behalf of those on , we give our condolences and prayers to those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that occurred December 14, 2012. We wish the survivors of this to stand strong and overcome the tragedy that has gripped not only Newtown, Connecticut but the nation.)


	8. Day 6

_Day 6_

* * *

Today and tomorrow... This outing for the 13 couples was drawing to a close. This could be the last day to talk to friends before their homes are accessed. Shun and Yuna were in the kitchen sharing breakfast tips. "So you go clockwise, then counterclockwise?" Shun questioned as they battered the eggs.

"Only when you're scrambling them," Yuna pointed out. "Otherwise, it's just a crack of the shell, pour and simmer." Shun bobbed in understanding the pink-haired teenager. "By the way, was there anyone on the island you liked? You know, someone you would cook for?" Shun stopped stirring to think for a second.

"I guess it would be Miss Miyazaki." Shun liked Nodoka.

"I wouldn't want to give Kazuki up but if I had no choice, I would say Neo." Despite wanting to stick with her man, she had an interest with one of the hosts. "Though, I think Ash has had it the best." Shun nodded, figuring out what she meant.

"I know...Asuka, Kari, Nodoka, Miharu, Serena...and to think, he's not even trying. I heard that Kari and Nodoka watched 'Castle in the Sky' with Ash." Shun walked to the refrigerator as Yuna recalled the movie.

"'Castle in the Sky,' huh? Kazuki and I could use a little romantic movie by ourselves without Kuriko or Rin getting in the way." Shun looked at Yuna, stunned that Ash wasn't the only stud on the island.

"Really?!" He opened the icebox and saw an empty jug. He pulled it out, showing it to Yuna. This mystified her. "I'm sure the hosts check the food quality daily. We do have nearly three dozen people and creatures on this island, including them." On cue, Emma emerged with another jug of milk, fumed.

"For someone who hates milk, he has a funny way of showing it," she grumbled. Shun took the jug from Emma.

"Thanks." Yuna blinked at Emma's frustration.

"Someone who hates milk?" she repeated.

"Yeah, you remember the first night during our first get-together?" Emma reminded. "Pete questioned Edward about the milk. This is the eighth gallon we've gone through in the past few days!" Were the hosts running out of the Moo Moo Juice? Outside, the guests enjoyed the sunshine once again after yesterday's rain-out. Plenty chose to spend the day relaxing. After all, after today, they were packing back up to their worlds. On the other hand, Ash was busy training with new creatures and some just seen like Pikachu, Totodile and Noctowl. Others involved a yellowish-green dinosaur with bulbs around its neck and a leaf on its head, a baby blue elephant with orange plates and a blue mouse with red dots on it's back. They fought with different abilities like fire, leaves and water. Noctowl faced Pikachu, Totodile squared off with the mouse and the elephant and dinosaur battled...all under the watch of Ash. Alma and Yukinari came over to Misty holding Togepi.

"What the hell is he doing?" Alma wondered.

"Training," Misty simplified. "He's put it off since coming to the island and now he wants to make sure his Pokémon are ready for the Silver Conference." Tip top shape...

"Well, a few of those days we can't really blame him," Yukinari shrugged. "Yesterday's weather, the volleyball tournament, I mean...we've had a lot of fun over the week." To Ash, fun time had expired. Noctowl evaded Pikachu's electric attacks.

"Noctowl, try to catch Pikachu's Thunderbolt with your Confusion!" he ordered. Noctowl's furry brows started glowing a light blue as Pikachu shot more electricity. As the bolts closed in, they became blue and stopped inches from its beak. The electricity wrapped itself in a ball before being "pushed" back at Pikachu. He leaped away just as the electric ball blasted the sands. "Awesome, Noctowl!" Ash turned to the baby elephant who curled itself into a ball and rolled at the dinosaur who fired vines. The vines caught the spinning elephant. "Phanpy, I know you can get through Bayleef's Vine Whip!" Phanpy spun harder and harder, Bayleef digging it's legs in the sands for leverage. Alma had a suggestion.

"Hey, Ash!" he called. "Have Phanpy adjust it's spin." Ash listened, but wondered about how to adjust Phanpy's spin. Then a thought.

"Phanpy, Rollout to the left!" Phanpy turned its wheel-shaped body to the left, providing more pressure to the right vine. Phanpy broke free from Bayleef's vines and barreled into Bayleef with plenty of force. "There you go!" Alma got to Ash's side as Bayleef got back on its feet.

"Remember that you need to battle smarter, not harder. This way, your Pokémon don't wear out as fast." Sound advice.

"Thanks, Alma." Meantime, Kari and Asuka watched in anticipation. Kari remembered last night when she joined Ash and Nodoka for "Castle in the Sky" while the rest saw "Eight Legged Freaks." She recalled holding Ash's hand and the discussion with Nodoka about who should like Ash more. Nodoka acknowledged that she should take Ash, citing her relationship with Negi. Kari didn't mind if anyone took Ash, even Yuna or Winry.

"So, you have an interest in Ashy boy, huh?" Asuka teased. Kari hiccuped. She wasn't ready for retaliation. "I heard that you watched a movie with him. Did he hold your hand?" Kari feigned to answer. She reminded herself about the first day when Asuka gave Ash a kiss for punishing Chamo.

"Y-Yeah, sorta," she stuttered. A wicked sneer from Asuka mounted goosebumps on the brunette girl. Forget being nervous, she's becoming a wreck.

"I may have an idea on how to present yourself to him." Kari had a bed feeling about this. After all, this was Asuka who possessed a grin of wicked intent. See, she's doing it now. "Ruri! Orihime! Serena, come on over!" The named rushed to Asuka and Kari, wondering what her plan was. Kari got a little fearful of Asuka's ploy.

"What is it, Asuka?" Orihime asked.

"I'll need your help with Kari's makeover." The three summoned girls blinked at Asuka's plot.

"Are you sure about this?" Kari shuttered. "I-I mean, you went after Ash first!" Asuka wasn't worried about the detail.

"The reason is to get Shinji to focus on me. Don't get me wrong, I think of Ash as a bolder Shinji. However, you're better suited for him than I am." Quickly, she snagged Kari's arm, dragging her away and joined by the other girls. "Let's go!" As the girls carried Kari away, Larvitar, Luna and Gatomon were curious about where they were all heading off to.

"Now where do you suppose they're going with Kari?" Gatomon wondered.

"I'm not sure," Luna shuttered. "I hope they don't do anything rash." They chased the girls with Larvitar struggling to keep pace. Come on, Larvitar! Move those feet! At a fashion room chalk-full of different summer wear for both genders, the girls browsed rack after rack for something to fit Kari from bikinis to swimsuits to even gowns. Asuka, Serena, Ruri and Orihime gathered different pieces of wardrobe and placed it in a pile for Kari to try on behind the dressing room's curtain. Dare we want to know if she's naked? The cats and Larvitar peered around a corner as the girls surrounded the curtain. Kari pulled the curtain open but wow, who would wear that?! Kari modeled a pair of very revealing blue straps which wrapped around her shoulders and her...piece between the legs. Kari's face spelled uncomfortable and the girls knew why.

"I thought you might have more upstairs but I guess not," Asuka groaned. Even the cats couldn't watch, that suit was more comfortable on an adult movie session, not on a kid. Shamed, Kari pulled the curtain back. A few minutes later, she appeared in a white swimsuit that looked like part of a school uniform with a necktie. Serena cupped her chin, wondering how it looked on Kari.

"I was kinda hoping it would look good on someone else besides me," she studied. So that was her offer? Luna groaned, flabbergasted with Serena's style.

"Only you would've picked something that deplorable," she mewed lowly. Orihime hammered her opened hand, an idea forthcoming.

"My turn!" she volunteered as she escorted Kari back behind the curtain. Kari's comfort level continued to deteriorate.

"A-Are you sure?" she stuttered.

"It'll be alright. I'm just helping you put this on-" Suddenly, a pause. "Oh my goodness!" Quickly, her head emerged from behind the satin wall. "Ruri, go and get me some white wings! I saw some in the Accessories section!" Ruri dashed to the Accessories, the cats puzzled with what Orihime found.

"I haven't really seen Kari naked so I don't know what Orihime needs with wings," Gatomon pointed out.

("No naked Kari?") Larvitar repeated. Ruri returned with huge white feathered wings.

"Here!" she called. Orihime's hand reached out and snagged the wings as she worked on Kari. Two minutes later, Orihime pulled the curtain open. Ruri, Asuka and Serena got a good look, astounded with...come on! Let us see, too!

"I think we have a winner," Asuka smirked. Serena, Ruri and Orihime all agreed. All they had to do was present her to Ash. Speaking of, Ash poured some sort of kibble to bowls for the Pokémon. Den walked on over to one extra bowl, supposedly for Larvitar. She sniffed the bowl of food, curious to know if it's edible.

"No, Den!" Winry scolded. "That's not for you!" Den whimpered like a child who didn't get a candy bar. Ash looked at his Pokémon, only now noticing one missing.

"Hey, has anyone seen Larvitar?" he realized. InuYasha heard Ash's small plight, looking around for the missing creature.

"Can't say I have," he shrugged. Winry would agree with no sight of the Rock Skin Pokémon.

"Wish we could help out," she offered. Ash understood the two. It was his responsibility to watch Larvitar, no one else.

"That's okay, I did lose track of him," he admitted. Apparently, he wasn't alone. TK and Patamon rushed over to the group, frantic about something.

"Hey, guys?" Patamon called out. The group spun heads to the blond boy.

"Have you seen Kari?" No one, not even the Pokémon have seen his friend.

"We're wondering where Ash's Larvitar had run off to," Winry pointed out. Before anyone could start searching for missing comrades...

"Ash!" Serena shouted. Even TK and the creatures twisted to Serena with Orihime, Ruri and Asuka. Where's Kari? Behind them?

"We have a present for you," Asuka grinned. Ash could ask what the present was. Same could be said with TK, InuYasha and Winry. That's when Serena and Orihime stepped aside to present Kari and wow, she couldn't be more gorgeous if she had Orihime's figure, Asuka's charm and Serena's beauty. She was in a pearl white one-piece shoulder-less swimsuit with her belly button clothed under a white stretch of suit and a frilly tiny skirt above her legs. The kickers were the wings. They actually made Kari look like an angel. Ash gawked, words jumbling around his head on what to say to her. A great part of the islanders, even the girls, glared at Kari's transformation. For a girl to have the smallest chest size among the girls on the island, there's a lot of eyes on her. This drained her comfort level faster than Pikachu's electric attacks or Kagome's command to "sit." Kari sensed all the eyes, a swift fear quickly wanting her to withdraw from the scene. She bolted out of sight, the wings hurting her speed as all watched on. Something backfired. Asuka and Serena trying to wonder what it could be.

"Did we do everything by the book or did we miss something?"

"Not that I found." Asuka and Serena should be paying attention to Ash. He did not look the part of a happy camper.

"How could you!?" he snapped as his missing Pokémon resurfaced. Asuka and Serena jumped at Ash's sudden anger. They did all of this work to get ridiculed by the target? "She didn't deserve this treatment!" Orihime tried to ease Ash.

"Calm down, Ash," she called to him. "We were doing this for you!" Ash wanted no part of what the girls did to Kari.

"Well, that's something you can keep!" He was upset. He ran off, not wanting to talk to the girls who tried to help give him a good time. Even InuYasha had to criticize the girls for their act while Pikachu chased his friend.

"I think what you did went too far," he murmured. "If I was in his clothes, I'd appreciate someone for their action, not their looks." The girls stood puzzled. How could this go ever so wrong? Timing? Wrong wear? Whatever it was, they couldn't find an answer to that outburst. That night, everyone but Ash gathered in the dining hall. A still hurt Ash sat on the beach, contemplating the ordeal. Hearing about what Asuka, Serena, Ruri and Orihime did to poor little Kari, Rebecca, Kagome and Misty weren't happy about the reasoning.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Rebecca snapped. Orihime and Serena felt shame for their roles in forcing the union of Ash and Kari. Asuka showed no remorse. "I get the idea but even some kids know that looks can go so far!" Asuka slammed her hands on the table in rebut.

"Like you know what the hell Ash prefers in a good girl, huh?" she argued back. Misty watched on, Togepi tucked toward her chest. Why not argue in Ash's defense? You've been traveling with him since he killed your bike.

"Perhaps a hell of a lot more than you!" And to think that last night, these girls were just getting along. The boys' groans told a tale of senseless feuding and their replies.

"Those two bickering at each other makes Hellbrick look like a saint," Ichigo muttered. Hellbrick shifted his eyes to Ichigo, not liking his name compared with the girls.

"_**Never in hell put me in the same group as those bitches," **_the demonic rock growled. You know, every time Hellbrick speaks, he says "hell" in about every sentence. As the rest watched the battle of words between Rebecca and Asuka, Edward and Nodoka stepped out to search for Ash. It didn't take long as he remained facing the ocean when they found him.

"I feel like I wanna use my Pactio to see what's on his mind," she whispered. Edward wasn't around when she used the magical book on Yukinari. No surprise that he looked confused.

"Use your what?" he snapped back, trying to be quiet.

"My magic book. I can use it to read into his thoughts." Edward looked, seeing the scorning brow on Ash's face.

"I don't think your magic book is necessary. He's still pissed at what Asuka and those others did to Kari." Nodoka still thought the book wouldn't hurt. Maybe there was swimsuit Ash thought would fit Kari or that swimsuit she had would fit someone else like Miharu?

"Well, you never know. Adea-" Nodoka stopped when she spotted Kari with Luna, surprisingly not Gatomon, approaching Ash, still wearing the swimsuit minus the wings. Yeah, those were rather distracting. Edward looked on while Larvitar and Mesousa joined the two looky-loos.

"Ash?" Kari called. Ash realized that it wasn't those who messed around with her but the girl, herself. He turned around to Kari, his scorn morphed to concern.

"H-Hey..." he stuttered. Kari sat on the sand while Luna crawled on his lap. "Hey, I'm sorry for that explosion before. I-I just can't believe Serena, Asuka...you know, what they did to you." Kari figured that him being upset hadn't subsided yet.

"Don't blame them too much. They wanted me to look good for you. Sure, I didn't ask for it but what can I do?" Saying no would be a good option.

"I'm not one to go with looks, honestly. Then again, I look at a girl like I do everyone and everything." Impartial and objective in life. Not a bad way to go.

"Well, you're still young," Luna chimed in. "You don't need to rush into anything so quickly."

"True, but why did some of them want me to fall for someone when I didn't want to?" Neither Luna or Kari had an answer to that. Nodoka had a theory.

"I think it's from the first night," she remembered. "When we were talking about how we met our partners." It was a bit vivid for Edward. That's when he had a question.

"What about you and Springfield?" he asked.

"Prof. Negi had our class do a little voting to see who would join him here on this island. I had a feeling that Asuna and Konoka would be chosen since he shares the dorm room with those two. He asked all of us who would be best if you weren't picked. Surprisingly, I won by one vote." She lucked out. Edward could only wonder how he would've fared should the decision have gone to this Asuna or Konoka. Back to the younger couple...

"You know, ever since I helped you out of the bath the other night, I was still concerned about you," Kari confessed. Well, blame the one who put Ash in that perilous position, that dirty ermine...

"What do you mean?" Ash wondered. "I'm fine now." A clarification, please.

"Some of the girls still think you're partly responsible for that surprise, even Misty." Ash's fog cleared little by little. It wasn't his health that became an issue but dignity. Kari knew that Ash had no inkling to trick members of the opposite gender, especially while being unconscious.

"I didn't really think about that." Kari would forgive him for that short-minding understanding.

"Is it alright if I confess something else to you?" Ash could only guess what it could be. Still, it didn't bother hurting him asking anyway.

"Yeah, go ahead." Kari took a deep breath before her blushing red cheeks faced Ash again, him petting Luna like he would Pikachu.

"I've had a crush on you since the first night. I think some of those feelings gave the others the idea about you and why they dressed me in that swimsuit." Startled, Ash had a bit of a hard time believing someone had feelings for him, let alone in such a short time.

"Wow...what can I say?" Something, anything, just say it.

"Do you not have feelings for Kari?" Luna softly urged him along. Ash's confession to Hellbrick just came back to bite him.

"I mean...I guess. You _are _the first of others besides me to help take care of Larvitar. I don't think there would be anyone else who I can think of to take care of Pokémon from another dimension like you." That's was an okay reply. Kari figured Ash was holding his feelings back and let him know about it.

"You don't have to be shy about it. What's wrong with liking or loving someone?" Was Ash afraid of love? Did he even like the word to begin with?

"I'm still a little young to consider love a thought." He thought his age would protect him from having someone fall for him. Kari had a little correction for Ash.

"Not really. Kagome told me about her little brother and how he has a girlfriend thanks to InuYasha." A half-demon giving love lessons? That's new. Maybe the thought of love couldn't hurt.

"Really?! Maybe I should give it a try." Kari would be a good start. Better yet, Kari started it all. She leaned in and gave Ash a heck of a kiss. The kiss felt warmer, though not as hot as the bath he nearly drowned in or burned out in. Nodoka and Larvitar watched, mesmerized with the romantic scene right in front of themselves and Edward, who didn't seem too bothered by the two's love interests.

"I kinda wonder if Rose had feelings ever since I saw her in Lior?" he questioned. "She hadn't really been the same since her brother died."

"You would have to see her to be sure," Nodoka advised. The two refocused their attention on the two, Kari not wanting to part her lips from Ash. That would change in a matter of seconds as a pillar of blue light emerged from out of nowhere, surrounding the couple and Luna. All looked up to see where the light pillar lit up from. Thinking time expired as something began pulling Ash and Kari from the sands. They hollered in terror for help. Those watching rushed to help as the force hoisted the first pair higher and higher, nearly out of sight. Edward clapped, hoping to transmute something to save Ash and Kari. However, the force captured the other two, Larvitar and Mesousa as they tried to help to. How, we could only wonder. All captured by the pillar of light soon disappeared in the sky. Serena, TK, Pikachu and Patamon rushed out, hearing the cries for help. All they saw was the pillar vanishing.

"What was that?" TK shouted. Serena couldn't tell from her stunned look. She's unaware that her cat had gone into the skies with a few humans. Pikachu didn't know that Ash had gone up there, same with TK, Winry and Negi. What could that light have been and could this be a test of Ash's newly engaged relationship with Kari?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. Night 6

_Chapter Disclaimer: I do not own Excel-Saga. Thought they deserve another chance since the Sci-Fi episode._

* * *

_Night 6_

* * *

Who knew the night before everyone departs back to their own dimensions would there be such a scene? Something abducted Ash, Kari, Edward, Nodoka, Luna, Mesousa and Larvitar. Serena, TK, Pikachu and Patamon only caught a glimpse of what just happened, dashing back to warn the others. "Guys!" he yelled as they slammed the door open. Everyone there corked their heads to the two.

"What's wrong, TK?" Darrien wondered. Won't the news be pleasant.

"Something took some of our friends!" Patamon yelled. A chorus of gasps. No one wanted to hear about something abducting people they knew.

"Do you know who or what were taken?" Shinji asked. A reflection to the moment had TK remember seeing those below, not above.

"I did see Ed and Nodoka and two of the creatures," he recalled. "There were two others higher up but I didn't see who they were." Winry and Negi instantly feared the worst. Neither Misty or Pikachu were aware of Ash and Larvitar being taken. Ichigo had an idea to figure who's still on the island.

"Everyone return to your rooms!" he ordered. "We'll know who's here and who's not. InuYasha, can you help me look over the island to see if they've gone somewhere?" Ichigo theorized that they were taken somewhere eyes don't normally look like the cavern Emma took TK and Nia. InuYasha already counted Kagome and Kilala present and Ichigo's friend, Orihime, was in the room.

"Yeah, count me in!" InuYasha accepted. As everyone returned to their rooms, someone should contact the front desk to alert the hosts, Ichigo and InuYasha split up to search the islands. However, they weren't on the island. Instead, they were in a much colder setting inside something metallic...and black. Ash, Kari, Edward, Nodoka, Larvitar, Mesousa and Luna laid unconscious. For a while, no one moved a muscle. However, Larvitar stirred. Back on his feet, he saw the humans as something above with yellow eyes watched from the ceiling. Larvitar's first concern was Ash.

("Ash, get up!") he hollered. ("Something's not right!") Ash woke to Larvitar's screeching. As he opened his eyes, he saw the others, including Kari wrapped around his shoulders. He sat up and cradled Kari in his arms, limp like a rag doll. He remembered before going up, she kissed him. He thumbed Kari's cheek, massaging her face. The massage tickled Kari awake. Opening her eyes, she saw Ash. A soft smile warmed his emotion.

"A-Ash?" she weakly murmured. Cheeks red as cherries and worry of a child missing her parents, she wrapped her arms like a snake's body around its prey. Tears trickled. She was afraid. Ash mercifully cuddled Kari to calm her down. Larvitar smiled at the two.

("I guess this is what love's about, huh") Hearing Larvitar, Edward came around...and not one who wanted to be awakened so suddenly.

"What the hell was that?!" he snapped loudly. His yell alerted Nodoka, Luna and Mesousa. Man, he needs to calm down more often. Then again, the group were taken against their collective will so he has all the reasons to complain.

"You okay, Ed?" Ash asked.

"No! I'm somewhere away from Al and now from Winry and everyone else! How am I supposed to be okay?!" Edward took a deep breath and examined the scene with Ash and Kari. "Okay, you two, Get a room before I get sick." Sick by jealousy? Ash focused on Kari's condition.

"Can you stand?" Kari nodded and both rose to their feet. Now the focus should be their site.

"Does anyone know where we are?" Kari asked. Nodoka received a hint from moving stars, having her look out a window nearby. What she saw gave her a huge shock: there's a planet below them. A yelp had all turn to her. "Nodoka?" Her paling face wasn't good news.

"We're...above the island," she hesitated. "I mean...far above." The others tried to understand Nodoka.

"What the hell do you mean '_far _above'?" Edward demanded more information. Sometimes, the best thing to say is just a few words.

"We're...in...outer space." Then again, coming straight may result in outrageous reactions.

"WHAT?!" gasped the others. No one could believe they were in orbit, far above Earth, let alone the island. Then came an interesting discovery: the air control. No one was suffocating.

"It seems the climate aboard whatever we're on is set to allow living organisms to live," Luna observed. "We're all breathing in this so we should be fine in regard to our location." Knowing that their area was safe, all eased down. That's when Luna noticed Mesousa acting somewhat peculiarly.

"This ship..." he hushed. "Why do I have a feeling like I've been here before?" Nostalgia filled the bunny's mind.

"I beg your pardon?" Something on the vessel irked Mesousa.

"I-I don't know. This is the first time being on here...yet I feel like I've been here before." The humans tried to make sense of Mesousa's issue. He hasn't been on this spaceship before but yet feels familiar. Huh? Ash chose to forgo the puzzle and plot a course.

"We need to find a way off of this ship," Ash pointed out. "The best way is splitting up so that we can look for it faster." All agreed to the idea.

"I'll take Larvitar and Mesousa down this corridor," Luna offered, focused on the hall behind them.

"Ash, Kari, go that way," Nodoka ordered. "Ed and I can take this path." Edward hiccuped at Nodoka's suggestion.

"Why should we go down one way and those two go another?" he questioned. "I mean, we saw the two making love before we were abducted. Why can't you take her and me go with Ash?" Hearing what those two did in secrecy made Ash groan. Witnesses to love, was there really any need?

"Look, blame Asuka, blame Serena, blame whoever wanted me to wear those angel wing attachments that went with this swimsuit," Kari muttered. "I'm actually glad I came out and admitted my feelings to Ash." The named person blushed in some embarrassment. Dude, take it to heart! He refocused on the task at hand.

"You two gonna be okay?" he asked in concern. Nodoka nodded. "Alright, if we find someway to contact each other, do so." On that exchange, they broke toward their paths. Minutes passed. The cold steel did not feel good to Ash or Kari, barefoot since they were taken from the beach. "If I knew something like this was gonna happen, I'd bring my shoes with me. The floor feels like ice." Kari would relate.

"At least I'm not the only one complaining about the floor." The two found a door and hitting a green button on a control pad, the door opened. There, the Earth was on-screen. Seats strewn around the room. Lights, scales, monitors, buttons...the room seemed to be the main control of everything. "I'm not a sci-fi girl but I'm thinking this is the bridge." Ash sat on a chair in the center. The chair had a built-in control panel on the armrests where he messed with the buttons.

"Let's hope one of these makes contact with those below." Each key Ash pressed, the panel changed. "Come on..." Finally, one tap of a key gave him access to the resort. Two key presses later, a ringing. The front screen switched from the view of the Earth to Ash's and Misty's room. Misty turned the monitor on in the room, excited to see Ash okay.

"Ash!" she cheered. Hearing his name called, Pikachu and Togepi checked the monitor to make sure.

"Hey, guys!" Pikachu happily breathed a sigh of relief. Togepi chirped like this was nothing.

"Where are you? TK and Serena said they saw Ed and Nodoka being taken."

"Yeah, Kari and me too, as well as Luna, Mesousa and Larvitar." The update didn't sit too well for Pikachu. He wanted to make sure Ash could get down safely from where they sat or stood.

"Misty, tell the others that we'll be back on Earth as soon as we can," Kari advised. Their collective plan: escape.

"I can do that," she agreed. "You guys be careful." The screen switched back to the view of Earth. Now, it was just Ash and Kari alone. That would last a little while. In stormed several human-like beings. They had fins on top of its saucer-styled head with different color eyes. All pointed what looked like rifles. They surrounded the humans. Kari feared what they would do to them, hoping someone would come and save them. Ash stood his ground, ready to defend Kari.

"Captain, what do you want done with them?" a green-eyed being asked the red-eyed one. Wait, they can talk English?

"First off, hold your fire," Captain ordered. "We're in violation of the Galactic Federations bylines considering direct contact with the test subject's related species. Though I am wondering how the species managed to reach here." Kari awed the conversation among these beings.

"I guess there are intelligent life forms beyond Earth," she joked. Ash could care less. However, an idea on resolving the matter popped up.

"Maybe you can tell us why you needed to watch us," he ordered. Captain peered at Ash, not sure if he should answer or keep quiet.

"That is information which is not permitted to be shared by those not partnered with the Galactic Federation," he denied. This was going nowhere fast.

"Well, it would help if you didn't keep bringing it up every other day!" the green-eyed associate snapped. This wasn't an argument worth joining. Ash chose to go right to the point.

"Then tell us why we were brought on this ship?" he asked. The aliens gawked. Something's not right and those aliens were acting as if they were an innocent party.

"Hold on...you mean that you didn't get here on your own?" Ash and Kari shook their heads. None of the aliens wanted to take responsibility for this debacle.

"There may be a way to decide their honesty," Captain theorized. "Let's bring the Or-lingual over here." The green-eyed associate did not like where this was going.

"Captain, are you serious? The last time we used it, it overheated and malfunctioned, sending the children into a synchronized dream!" Captain knew the risk.

"We won't be needing it for any longer than 15 minutes. Besides, what else could there be?" Captain with the worst words to say. Sirens wailed across the ship. Even the humans knew this was trouble.

"You were saying?" Kari mocked. All turned to see another spaceship approaching. This one looked to have a yellow bear with some sort of beaters as a cross at the helm. Edward and Nodoka regrouped to see the new craft. The associate detected something from a different monitor.

"Communication lines active, Captain," he reported. "Our new arrivals wanna talk." A negotiation?

"Put it on-screen," he commanded. The screen switched again, showing little yellow teddy bears wearing pink diapers along with a pink teddy bear with blond hair and a black soldier uniform. Something's amiss. That's when pink teddy bear's face disfigured, almost looking human.

"Ah, the Galactic Federation Research Fleet," he sneered. "Still keeping your eyes on that little girl?" Captain wasn't amused, more annoyed with the bear's animosity.

"What's it to you, Puchuu Overlord?!" The pink Puchuu snickered.

"Why are you so obsessed with understanding humans via one child? Has it ever dawned on you that your mission to study just that child has no merit to anything in the future?" The humans didn't know what to say or act on. Who was this child these aliens were observing? Why did they need to go after this child when there's more than enough to help their research?

"Yeah, and what about you? Why come into our business?" Overlord's cackled meant evil.

"Easy, federation scholars: take over the world!" A wave of his paw and the guns mounted on the ships hull fired. Each shot of laser, bullet or something out of this world tagged the primary ship. Each hit rocked the ship and nearly threw everyone on the floor. Ash and Kari huddled along each other.

"Doesn't this thing have weapons to shoot back?!" Edward complained.

"No, this is a carrier!" the associate corrected. No weapons? Everyone was doomed until Larvitar entered the bridge. Ash had an idea.

"Ed, can you create a loudspeaker?" he asked. Why would Ash want with a loudspeaker? Seeing Larvitar and remembering what he can do, Edward grinned.

"One loudspeaker, coming up!" he announced. A clap of his hands and slamming them to the floor, sparks crackled from around Ed and beneath the ship as it faced the Puchuu cruiser defending Earth. Out sprung a giant loudspeaker. The Overlord could only wonder what something like that could do. He never thought about what the vessel he attacked had.

"Cover your ears, everyone!" Easy for the aliens to do. Everyone shielded their ears as Ash presented a microphone to Larvitar. "Okay, Larvitar...Use Screech!" Larvitar hiccuped at the request. His Screech attacks have caused problems. However, Ash nodded. This was okay as he braced his ears. Oh, were the Puchuu in for this. Larvitar screamed into the microphone and the loudspeaker transmitted the Screech which pumped out sound waves. The waves blasted the Puchuu ship and considering how loud it sounded, those evil teddy bears couldn't stand the noise. It was so bad, ears exploded and the Puchuus dropped like flies dead. Little Pokémon, dangerous weapon. Then a collection of explosions struck the ship all over. Such a powerful Screech attack.

"They...had a secret...this whole time?!" Overlord cried in pain. The ripples shook the controls out of whack and somehow, a "Self-Destruct" program activated. The power of voice happens to be stronger than anticipated or that could be one heck of a loudspeaker Edward transmuted. The program's countdown entered the last ten seconds. "No! My dreams of conquest...ruined by a harmless vessel? Blasphemy!" Hard to argue but it's the truth. The countdown read zeros across the monitor. Time's up! KABOOM! A huge explosion devastated and demolished the Puchuu ship. There was nothing left of the enemy fleet. Larvitar stopped his Screech and everyone removed their ears. All looked at the remains and some body parts of the Puchuu. The threat had been stopped. Ash and Edward cheered in victory.

"We did it!" Ash yelled. The aliens and the girls joined the cheering, Kari embracing Larvitar in a hug.

"Thank you, Larvitar," she praised. Larvitar cheered to Kari's happy words.

"Well, I guess there was a reason we were sent on this space ride," Edward realized. Captain almost forgot about the humans that trespassed on board.

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me!" he snapped. "How did you get on this ship?" None of the humans had a clue.

"You mean you don't know yourself?" Nodoka gulped. This was now a problem. The humans and aliens were clueless to how the humans and creatures came on board.

"This could be a problem," the associate huffed in slight frustration. The door opened to the bridge where Luna emerged.

"I believe we found the responsible party," she mewed. The aliens balked to Luna, a talking black cat.

"A talking...cat?" Captain stuttered. "I thought that one who calls himself 'God' was the only talking cat we needed to worry about." Luna rose a brow at the aliens.

"Excuse me?" Kari wanted to get back on topic.

"So, what did you find?" she wondered. Luna turned to where a small brunette girl wearing a blue school uniform with yellow skirt entered with Mesousa in her arms. Everyone jumped in shock at the little girl who cheered with a giant smile.

"A toddler?" Nodoka guessed. Captain recognized the little girl.

"Ichijo's little sister!" he remembered. Who? Ash had to know what Captain meant.

"Who's little sister?" he questioned.

"A student of Miss Miyamoto. That's her little sister who somehow finds her way on this ship. She may be very young but knowing that she's the one responsible is part of her intelligence." That made Kari think. If the little sister was able to call the humans up here... She knelt to her level.

"Hey, little sister," she greeted. Little sister looked over to Kari. "You wanna return back on Earth? Back with your big sister?" The toddler nodded before walking over to Kari. Within reach, Kari scooped the little child as Ash regrouped with her. Little sister saw Ash as he pet her head and Larvitar back on his shoulders. She brought out a notebook and crayon and started drawing.

"I should tell you that she likes to draw." A talent? Done, she showed a drawing of two stick figures, one with a veil and another with a top-hat.

"Indeed, she does," Luna awed. Kari looked at the drawing, wondering if that's what little sister saw with her.

"You think you see me and Ash together?" she guessed. Little sister confirmed with a flurry of nods. Careful, little sister. No need to suffer whiplash.

"Well, I'll be!" Edward huffed in astonishment. "I guess Asuka and Serena were on to something." With the understanding settled, Ash was ready to return back to Earth.

"What do you say we return to the island?" he suggested. "Tomorrow, you and your sister can get back together." Little sister cheered at the thought, making Larvitar laugh. Nodoka and Edward couldn't wait.

"I can do this, Captain," the associate volunteered as the other aliens marched off the bridge.

"Thank you, friend," Captain accepted. Following the associate, the humans and creatures exited the bridge. Meantime back on the beach, Misty, Pikachu, Togepi, TK, Gatomon, Negi and Winry prayed for the safe return of their friends. InuYasha and Ichigo, frustrated that their search for those missing was in vain, watched from the roof. Well, their prayers would be answered. A pillar of blue light fell on the sands. Everyone jumped back, not wanting to become trapped in that light. With a flash, those who vanished reappeared. Those in the sands were glad to see their friends okay. Negi and Nodoka hugged. Misty and TK were glad at least to see Ash and Kari alive. Surprisingly, Misty wasn't offended with how close Kari was to Ash. Neither was TK. Kari had her arms wrapped around Ash's as the little sister rode on her shoulders much like Larvitar. One glimpse of Misty and little sister hid her face from the redhead.

"It's all right," Kari tried to ease the toddler's worry.

"Okay, did something happen between you two?" he joked. Both giggled. TK became more interested with any detail they could offer.

"You could say that what happened was out of this world," Ash punned. Did he seriously needed to say that?

"I think the reason he asked is because you and Kari look like the perfect item," Winry pointed out. Ash and Kari would agree.

"You're not the only one," Kari referred to the little sister. Misty retreated a step, seeing the toddler.

"Y-Y-Y-You have a kid?" she mistakenly believed. Pikachu wasn't sure how to approach this issue. He went with Misty's word, thinking that they did it together in some time defying chamber and had a daughter of their own. Ash wanted to straighten this out.

"No, it's a sister of one of Rebecca's students," he corrected. Rebecca's face flushed with despair.

"You brought her here?" she growled in anger. Little sister summoned her notebook and drew once more. Rebecca didn't want to know what she illustrated. There's a good reason: little sister colored up a skull and bones in an X. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. I don't need a reminder." Kazuki saw the picture, thinking that little sister didn't like Rebecca.

"I take it this is her thought about you?" he asked. Rebecca's boiling smug told Kazuki to hush. Little sister turned the page after seeing him and Yuna and resumed her drawing.

"Is this what you see from Kazuki?" Kari wondered. Little sister chirped to confirm Kari's thoughts. Complete, she presented Kazuki and Yuna two people, one being a white-haired baby held in the arms of a brunette looking like Kazuki. Yuna saw the drawing, a theory compiling.

"You see Kazuki having a child?" she pondered. Little sister nodded as Kazuki noticed something interesting about the baby.

"Yuna, there's something familiar about the baby in the picture," he pointed out. Yuna looked again. That's when she realized what Kazuki saw.

"Oh, my! Elizabeth?" Rebecca gazed to Yuna, interested with the name.

"Uh...who?" she wanted a recall.

"She haunts the school Kazuki and I attend. But I'm starting to think that Kazuki's child is Elizabeth reborn." A crazy concept. Little sister reached out for Darrien who joined Serena in the safe return of Luna. Kari wondered why the little sister wanted the attention of the tall young man.

"You wanna meet Darrien and Serena?" she asked. Little sister nodded and waived to Ash to come join. Ash happily came along as the three met up with the other two. The searchers huffed in some comedy relief.

"Well, I guess all's well that end's well," InuYasha summed up.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ichigo agreed. Misty was happy to see Ash okay, but not to Ash having someone like her around him. TK came forward with an idea.

"Why don't you join me in my room," he offered. "You know, give them the night together." TK didn't mind Kari being with someone other than him which startled Misty.

"But aren't you and Kari-" she started but stopped at seeing TK shake his head.

"Just friends." It was also the last night for the two together, let alone everyone. Grateful for the return of their friends, all retired for the last time on this island. Misty accepted the offer, having Pikachu and Togepi join TK and Patamon. Edward and Winry entered their room as well as Negi and Nodoka. As the night rolled on, Serena and Nia, awake for some reason, sneaked into Ash's room, viewing Ash and Kari snuggled in the same bed. Larvitar, Mesousa and Gatomon slept on the other. Serena felt both foreheads, feeling warmth. No, neither had a fever.

"So, this is what it means to be together," Serena pictured. Nia started to see what Serena meant.

"If understanding each other means love, I think Simon and I have what it takes," she theorized.

"Yeah, same with Darrien and me. I hate to do this, mainly because they're together but..." She leaned down and kissed Ash and Kari on the foreheads. "For luck from the moon." Now why would she kiss Ash even though it appeared Kari was the perfect choice for Ash to everyone on the island and...there's something new. Did Serena keep feelings for Kari?

"Do you normally do that with other people?"

"I do that to Sam, my younger brother. Ash kinda reminds me of Sam. Same with Kari, reminding me of my best friend, Molly." To Nia, Serena did it like a sibling love, not an actual romantic bloom. "I hope you two meet in the future." Nia prayed for Ash and Kari's love to stay strong even as they left the room. Meantime, Misty was still awake. Something bothered her, no doubt that Kari, who's known him since arriving on the island, has made a serious connection to Ash considering how much longer she's traveled with him. Seeing her away from the bed, TK sat up.

"You're still upset about Kari?" he questioned. Misty grunted in jealousy...but at herself.

"Not her," she answered. "Me." TK balked, amused that her anger was at her, not Kari. Why would her anger be at her when Kari's the one with Ash? He hopped out of bed and reached Misty at the window.

"Why are you mad at yourself? Vacations like these are meant as relaxing times." Misty didn't mind the vacation. It was something else.

"I thought Ash was someone who didn't understand what love means. If I knew from the start..." TK wasn't sure he wanted to believe Misty's saying that Ash didn't get love. Ash had got plenty of love since Day One.

"If anything, he's caring. I believe he learned that from your care of Togepi." In TK's eyes, Ash did learn from Misty about feelings. Misty was taken aback by this possible ponder. Misty wondered about how she approached the situation on the first day when she saw Darrien, chasing him in a sense of "love at first sight." Ash was trying to enjoy a little vacation away from their world. Instead, Ash's relaxing week filled with admirers and Misty's week drenched in misery. Nothing went wrong for Ash and almost nothing right for Misty. What could Misty have done differently during the week?

"He's caring all right." That's when she had a request. "If it's okay... Can I give you something? You know, for helping me feel better about what happened?" TK bobbed a nod.

"Of course." Misty snagged TK's head and planted a kiss on his lips. If TK didn't mind Kari being with Ash, surely Ash wouldn't mind Misty being with TK. A lot of kissing on the last night. Perhaps tomorrow's sendoff will be bittersweet.

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	10. Final Day

_Final Day_

* * *

Just when things were getting good, it would all come to an end. The sun rose from the ocean for the last day for those on the island getaway. It's sad. Everyone started to get along with each other. Ichigo stepped out of his room, breathing in the ocean air. He remembered the fight with InuYasha and how abrupt it ended thanks to Kagome. He leaned on the railing, gazing out toward the ocean. "Seven days," he counted. "Can't believe it's over already. I wonder how Rukia and my sisters are doing." He began to walk down the stairs where another door opened and out popped Serena and Ichijo's little sister. Little sister came to the island last night after Ash, Kari, Edward and Nodoka stopped an army of Puchuus from invading Earth. The oceanic air made Serena yawn. "Morning, Serena...Little sister." Serena turned to Ichigo while little sister hid.

"Morning, Ichigo," she welcomed. "Sorry about last night. I guess I should have been more specific to what happened to those guys." Ichigo waved it off, not a big deal at this point.

"It's okay. It all turned out well." Serena felt relieved to hear him forgiving her. "Why say that? I mean, there wasn't anything we could have done to stop it." A giggle from her hinted to Ichigo that she did something during the night.

"Well, I visited Ash's room during the night and gave him and Kari a kiss." Little sister got interested with what Serena did. Ichigo came to the conclusion that she did that to apologize for the ruckus yesterday, especially to Ash for all the trouble she, Ruri, Asuka and Orihime gave him and Kari with trying to pair them together, via sexy swimwear.

"Huh! For all the cause, Asuka should be the one saying sorry to them, not you." Serena gulped. He believed she said sorry to Ash and Kari when all the blame was on Asuka. Before she could reply to his reply, a growl. Both blonds heard the growl, turning to the little sister. A reminder...

"Right, we're gonna have breakfast with everyone." Little sister nodded as the two made their way to the dining hall where Emma and Pete set the tables for the visitors' last meal. Pete produced a high chair for the latest visitor.

"I called it, Pete," she nagged. "I told you and Neo that a high chair would come in handy." Pete groaned at Emma's cackle.

"Okay, okay!" he muttered. "No need to rub it in my baby face." Emma giggled. "Look, I'm still in disbelief that aliens came to attack us, let alone be furry teddy bears that could use its cuteness to lower our guard." They were more of mice than bears. The doors opened, Ichigo, Serena and little sister entered the hall.

"Sorry if we're early," Ichigo apologized. Pete shook his head.

"Nah, it's cool." Serena loaded little sister on the high chair and Emma presented her with a sippy cup of milk. For a toddler, she knew how to hold the cup tight and firm.

"Can't believe a whole week came and went," Serena summarized. Emma acknowledged Serena's subtlety. "I mean, I've met new friends and some...I wish I couldn't leave them." Ichigo bobbed his head.

"I couldn't agree more," he huffed. "I might not feel so bad the next time I beat a member of the Soul Society, knowing how strong InuYasha is during our fight a few days ago." The fight could be considered a draw since Kagome ran interference.

"Yeah, but I think the real lucky son of a gun is Ash. I had a chance to walk with him, Asuka kissed him on the first day, Miharu was his teammate in that volleyball tournament, Yuna had a chance to help his training, Ruri helped heal him when the boys ditched him and...Kari..." Kari became the ultimate winner in the Ash Ketchum sweepstakes. Soon, more people came in the halls. TK and Misty entered, holding hands. More than one romance seemed to bloom. Everyone and their creatures came to eat one more meal before heading back to their own dimensions...except for Ash and Kari. Those two were still asleep, missing breakfast. Kari nestled her head on Ash's shoulder. Mesousa, Larvitar and Gatomon woke to the sunshine. Hopping out of bed, the sun was a welcoming to the nightmare that was last night. Mesousa and Larvitar scoped the bed with the kids still sawing logs.

"Should we wake them up?" Mesousa asked. Larvitar looked but shook his head. He didn't want to disturb the two. They looked so comfortable together that waking them up would be a bad idea. Any number of circumstances could come from rudely getting them out of bed.

"Let 'em sleep," Gatomon reassured. "After what happened last night, they just need sometime to calm down." Mesousa smiled at the two before joining the other two for breakfast. Kari snuggled ever closer to Ash. What else happened last night besides being abducted by a toddler stowaway, going into outer space, getting involved in an alien battle and stopping a fleet of murderous teddy mice? Something might be hinting underneath the sheets but let's not go under there and say we did. As everyone else enjoyed breakfast, Neo, Pete and Emma entered.

"So, how has everyone been during this past week?" Emma asked. A mix of sounds were of good tone. The three hosts were happy that their offering of the week-long break from their worlds was worth it.

"That's awesome," Pete smiled but as he did a headcount, he found two vacationers missing. "Timeout, 30 seconds! Where's Ash and Kari?" Everyone stopped and looked around. No Ash. No Kari.

"Room 16," Gatomon called out. "We thought it would be best to let 'em sleep after all that happened last night." The hosts glared at each other, what to do about the two late for breakfast. Winry stood up, her plate clean.

"If it's not too much, I can go and deliver their breakfasts," she requested. Neo thought that getting breakfast to the two would be wise if they wanted to stay in the room.

"Sure, Ms. Rockbell," he accepted. Seeing the two plates without feeders, she snagged the plates and walked out. Reaching the room, she placed one plate on her arm and used her free hand to knock on the door.

"Ash! Kari! Breakfast!"

"Coming!" voiced Kari. She opened the door, greeting the blond. "Morning, Winry. Sorry about not coming for breakfast." Winry didn't see their absence as a big deal.

"Hey, I know the deal from Gatomon. You wanted to spend as much time before we all go home today." Kari gasped a little. She began to admire Ash and now, it's ending.

"But...we just..." Winry understood Kari's feelings. She didn't want to separate from Ash.

"I'm sure you two will see each other again." Kari couldn't believe what came out of Winry's lips. She didn't want Kari to lose what she wanted because they were all going home today. "I mean, if I wanted to, I'd take Alma with me and leave Ed here. You'd want to go with Ash to his world and be with him for the rest of your life." It was just not now. Kari mulled that the love would be put on hold.

"Winry?" Ash called as he stepped out of the bathroom, towelling his hair. So that's where he disappeared to. He's freshening up. "Oh, I didn't know breakfast could be delivered." Winry laughed, thinking Ash made a joke.

"Well, you two didn't show up in the dining hall." Ash felt silly for passing up breakfast to spend the morning...the last morning with Kari. The girls forgave him for feeling some love on this island getaway.

"That's actually a first for me. Other than Pokémon, food's the only thing I care for." No big deal to the girls.

"Just goes to show that there's more to life than food and Pokémon," Kari chuckled. Ash joined in the humor. After Ash and Kari ate breakfast, everyone returned to their rooms to pack up. It was time that they left. Alma picked up Hellbrick. It can't walk, it has no legs. Everyone packed, they joined the hosts at a huge device with a swirling light in a circular hoop.

"Well, everyone?" Pete mentioned. "The portal back to your worlds are opened. Present your Dimension Card to me and I'll activate the portal." The girls had white cards ready. Yuna and Kazuki stepped up first as Ruri and Hellbrick approached Ash and Kari, TK and Misty right by them.

"Ash, I'm sorry for all the ruckus yesterday," Ruri apologized, Alma watching from a few feet away.

"It's okay," Ash sighed, forgiving her. "It all worked out." Larvitar, in Ash's arms while Pikachu perched himself on his head, softly roared in happiness.

"_**If you forget the connection between you and her, I will personally give you hell," **_Hellbrick warned. Ah, good old Hellbrick. Never a moment of boredom when he has a word to say.

"Hey, I would like to see everyone again and maybe have another volleyball tournament," Kari wished. "And maybe have that night with Ash in that cavern like TK and Nia got." Simon and TK giggled in unison before Nia dragged Simon to the gate. A final waive and the two vanished. Almost all the guests have stepped beyond the gate back to their worlds. Ash, Misty, TK, Kari, Patamon, Gatomon, Pikachu, Larvitar and Togepi were last to go. "Ash, I will never forget what happened yesterday, let alone all week we've lived together. Same with you, you brave Larvitar." The Pokémon loved the praise from the brunette. "I want to see you mostly...no, I want to live with you, forever." Ash placed a hand on Kari's head, a sign of comfort to say that he won't forget her, let alone what love was about.

"I know we will," he promised. "To think, love is something I've started to like and you showed me what it is." Without warning, Ash returned the favor of lip locking to Kari. Misty and TK smiled at the two while the vortex's color changed to pink.

"I'm actually surprised that I'm not jealous of the two, now," Misty realized. "I mean, why should I be when the two have understood love, if to each other?" TK had an answer to her theory.

"Maybe because of what we talked about last night and that you gave _me_ a kiss?" he pointed out. Once broken, the blushing duo nodded a fond farewell. Ash, Misty and the Pokémon entered and followed by TK and Kari. All 13 couples were back in their worlds, leaving Pete, Neo and Emma to clean up the messes left by their guests.

"Well...I say that the week went well!" Neo summed up. No arguments among Pete and Emma.

"Tell me about it," Emma agreed. "Who knew the insanity of having so many guests could be so much fun."

"Yeah, I'm thinking we should start accepting more customers, expand the amount of rooms, provide continental meals, adjust daily costs to rent rooms...I mean, this can be successful to our business!" No one noticed that Pete stopped and his head tilted to the sky. "I bet Pete would feel like a kid again helping the guests out, wouldn't you?" That's when they figured out Pete wasn't paying attention to the conversation. "Pete?" Seeing where Pete was looking, they turned up and viewed... a spaceship falling onto the island. The hosts couldn't believe that something from space was falling...and it was aimed right at them. Someone acted fast.

"In the water!" Pete commanded. "In the water!" The three dashed and dove into the ocean while...KABOOM! The ship, no doubt damaged from the fight last night, didn't hit the resort, missing it by a few feet. The hosts surfaced, viewing the down aircraft and seeing that none of the resort, man-made, was unscathed.

"I think I'm gonna have a heart attack," Emma huffed. The men exited the ocean water before approaching the fallen ship. Emma hustled back to the rest, using Neo as a shield. Suddenly, the hatch door popped open. Hey, it's the aliens who helped Ash and the rest back to Earth.

"You're kidding..." Neo hushed. "Talk about a gust of wind..."

"Neo, that's my catchphrase!" Pete snapped. Captain looked at the remains of his vessel while the rest of the aliens filed out to escape the wreckage.

"Is everyone okay?" Captain asked. He's worried about his crew. He's the one responsible for them.

"They look like in good shape," the associate acknowledged. "You want me to check and verify?"

"Safety concerns, friend. Make sure they're evaluated." A nod from the associate and he strolled to check on everyone that was on-board. Captain looked at his ship, now scraps of twisted metal. "First, the subject of the matter, then the Puchuu fight...when did everything go to hell?" Some contemplating to do. Pete got to Captain's side, mocking the Federation's regulations.

"Eh, look at the bright side," he spoke. "You didn't hit the resort. You can stay until you get your ship back to working condition." Captain looked to the building his ship nearly crushed. Astonishment...to a point.

"Great...and me without the current currency to pay for lodging my crew." Leave it to Pete with an idea. He pondered a way to deal with the problem.

"No problem! Send out an SOS to whoever funds your missions and when we meet, we'll negotiate a settlement and send a payment plan to make sure everything fits the bill." Captain's astonishment grew. Pete would let them stay and rest while they broadcast a distress signal to have them rescued.

"You humans are more understanding than we studied from above. I mean, yeah, we're not really supposed to have direct contact with the species of the test subject but there are humans who feel sympathetic to anyone and anything." Pete wasn't too humored with the praises.

"We're the ultimate mixed bag. Hell, we feel like aliens to each other." Captain laughed hard, thinking how funny it would feel to consider humans as aliens.

"Pete!" Neo called out from the portal machine. "I'm gonna head back to Oregon for a bit. You think you can keep these aliens entertained?" A nod from the blond told Neo that he'd be fine.

"Sure thing!" Neo opened the portal and jumped inside before it vanished again. That left Pete and Emma with the aliens. Boy, wasn't this going to be a fun time. Meantime, the guests all made it back to their home worlds. Still, the adventures on the island were unforgettable. Ash and Misty, TK and Kari, Serena and Darrien, Rebecca and Shun, Simon and Nia, Alma and Ruri, Asuka and Shinji, Kazuki and Yuna, Yukinari and Miharu, Edward and Winry, Negi and Nodoka, Ichigo and Orihime and InuYasha and Kagome. These 13 pairs had a vacation of a lifetime. They can only wonder if the island will be there the next time.

* * *

THE END


End file.
